The art auction business, which floated as a bubble on top of a cloud of other bubbles, popped into soap scum with the financial crisis. Sotheby’s, the only company in the industry that is subject to public financial reporting requirements, announced back in May that its first quarter net auction sales had declined by 71 per cent from the comparable period last year. That was partly offset by a rise in commission margins, but even so, times are hard. Staff lay-offs throughout the industry add to the gloom.

However, while all the auctioneers have to live with less, Christie’s appears to be doing better than the industry as a whole. Christie’s, as a private company, is not required to provide audited financials that a public company must, so direct, hard-number comparisons aren’t possible. However, it seems several of its continuing strategies are well adapted for depressed times.