When James Christie opened his London auction house in 1766, little did the artists of the world realize that it would one day become the world's very first fine art auctioneer. Christie's Auction House quickly became the center of the international art trade with the greatest auctions in the 18th through 20th centuries for the most unique and beautiful.
At a price range of $200 to $80 million dollars, today Christie's Auction House has 85 international offices in 43 different locations, including 14 salesrooms all over the world. Clients recently have access to online worldwide sales through Christie's LIVE?, where they can do real-time online bidding on the Internet for items of choice. There are online instructions to follow before registering to bid:
- Learning about the auctioned property.
- Decide what the desired maximum bid is before the sale.
- Make note how the biding is to be done.
- What are the standard terms to be used?
- Read the "Artist's Resale right".
Over 600 annual sales in over 80 categories are offered to the art world, which includes many areas of fine and decorative arts, photographs, wine, cars, collectibles, jewelry, and much more. Leading the expanding market in art, Christie's is now emerging in initiative markets in the country of China, of India, and of the United Arab Emirates, while successfully exhibiting and selling in the countries of Beijing, along with Dubai, of Mumbai, and of Russia.
Additionally, Christie's Education began in 1978 to offer courses which were designed to assist the buyer or seller in regard to art, or simply an interested person of the art field—Art History, Connoisseurship, and the Art Market. This is of the highest quality education available, promoting the field of art in the entire world—or the option to obtain an Education Master's, Graduate Diploma, and the Undergraduate MA.
