Aiming high and wide

‘It is a compelling moment in the art world,’ says Robin Woodhead, Sotheby’s executive vice president and chief executive, Europe and Asia. ‘There has been a fundamental change in the market worldwide. Growing numbers of people have begun to take an interest in art, and we see continuing effective economies and new emerging markets — China, Russia, India — creating wealth on a scale that is unprecedented.’ He adds, ‘History tells us that the nouveau riche inevitably acquire works of art as symbols of wealth, power and culture.’ So do his company accounts.

Fresh from a New York evening sale of Impressionist and Modern Art which saw the second highest auction total in the firm’s 263-year history — a massive $278 million realised for just 55 lots — he outlines why Sotheby’s is responding to new market realities and using its recent record profits to transform its global business. Its new strategies are bold, and they are also brazen.