Auction Houses: Decoding the Art Market

Get to grips with London’s historic and contemporary role in art collecting

$513

Private

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Semi-private

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Tour Details

About the Tour

Private Tour: $ 513
Category: Art
Duration: 3 hours
Location: London

Photos & Highlights

Come face-to-face with London's illustrious art market and its shaping of today's art collection industry
Led by an auction house insider
Bonhams and White Cube Gallery

Tour Description

For centuries, London has been the center of the art market. Names like Christie's, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams are synonymous with luxury art trade today, but where does this tradition come from? On this walk we'll learn about the history of the auction houses, how art dealers function, and how the two interrelate.

Our walk will start in Mayfair, at the heart of this multi-billion dollar global business. Our course through the area will depend very much on current exhibitions and the interests of the group, and will include major auction houses as well as smaller galleries.

London Auctions

Typically, we begin this art tour of London with a basic background on the British passion for collecting and London's historic and contemporary role in the luxury market. Next, we'll introduce the history of Phillips and Bonhams, the auctioneers, and visit some of Bonhams salesrooms to consider the current exhibition. Here we may discuss how prices are determined and the the role of the auctioneer in the success of a sale. Our discussion will take us to the Fine Art Society and the Royal Academy, where we'll engage in a discussion on the key players of the art world, from the 18th century until today. We will contemplate the arbiters of style and fashion -from Beau Brummell to Saatchi and Jay Jopling- and how they can make or break the fortune of an artist.

Our walk will conclude with a visit to two of London's art institutions: Christie's and the White Cube Gallery. We'll discuss contemporary art, and how a gallery like White Cube has contributed to Damien Hirst becoming one of the highest-earning artists in the world.

Take aways

At the end of our time together, we'll have a better understanding of how London’s art world functions, exploring the various ways in which art and antiques are bought and sold. We will also get the chance to visit some of the city’s most prestigious commercial galleries and auction houses, and see some important artworks and objects rarely on public view. This walk is a good complement to our British Museum and Tate Modern tour.

Where You'll Start

Tour Experts

Alan

Alan Montgomery was born and raised in Scotland, but has spent most of his adult life in London. Having achieved an MA in Art History at Glasgow University, he worked for many years in the art world at both an international auction house and an antique dealer. In recent years he has returned to academia, achieving an MA in Classical Civilisation in 2011, and has recently completed a PhD in which he analysed eighteenth-century attitudes towards the ancient Roman world. In addition to his work for Context Travel, Alan also writes catalogue essays on Contemporary Art for a leading auctioneer. Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2017, he has just started work on a book inspired by his PhD research, which will be published by Edinburgh University Press in 2020.

Hattie

Hattie has a degree in History of Art and an MA in Historic Interiors, she has a life-long passion and fascination in Fine and Decorative Arts, particularly works produced in Europe from the 16th to 18th century. After working for the Royal Collection in the Print Room at Windsor Castle, she was a curator for a private collector of 17th and 18th century prints and drawings. This sparked a keen interest in portraiture and English art, as well as the printed image. Hattie has worked for London's foremost framer of important old master paintings during which time she sharpened her appreciation and understanding of the decorative arts and the changing tastes of collecting. Recently she has been dealing in prints and works of art as well as taking groups of all ages to museums and galleries.

Jessica

Jessica Cerasi is Curator of Information and Research at the UK Government Art Collection and co-author of Who’s Afraid of Contemporary Art?, an entertaining and discerning introduction to today’s art and art world (Thames & Hudson, 2017). She was formerly Exhibitions Manager at Carroll / Fletcher gallery, Assistant Curator of the 20th Biennale of Sydney in 2016, and previously Curatorial Assistant at the Hayward Gallery.

10 Reviews

Interesting tour with Alan, who provided great insights into the art and auction world. He shared many stories and good insights about art, history and the auction houses. Demystified the auction process and we saw some wonderful contemporary art. Would recommend highly.

Ellen

Feb. 28, 2019

My wife and I have done Context tours in Paris, Florence, Rome and NY City. Our tour with Alan was perhaps the best so far. Having worked in an auction house, he was very knowledgeable. He was easy to talk with and gave us real insight into this corner of the art world. The three hour tour passed very quickly and enjoyably. Many thanks to Alan and Context.

Charles

Jan. 13, 2019

Excellent!

Lucinda

Dec. 5, 2018

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Tour Experts

All Context Experts are scholars or specialists in their field.

Alan

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Hattie

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Jessica

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