Christie's
Christie 's is one of the oldest auction houses in the world, with headquarters in London.
History
The first auction led by James Christie on December 5, 1766. He worked for the aristocracy and the royal family. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the auction house, inter alia, was in touch with Catherine II and sold her collection of paintings Robert Walpole, which was an important contribution to the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg.
Today, Christie's operates worldwide and has an annual turnover of 6.3 billion U.S. dollars (2007). The major auction sites are London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong.
Lately, sold Christie's, inter alia, works and personal possessions of Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Christie's is owned by the French billionaire Pinault ( Gucci, Puma ( sports articles), PPR, Château Latour ). Since 2008, it is speculated due to the depreciation of Pinault's investments on a sale by Christie's, according to an article in the " Times " from the end of December 2008, several groups of investors are interested in buying. 2009, the company employed 1,900 people worldwide.