Christie, Manson and Wood, Ltd
British, American
Christie’s eldest son, James Christie the younger (1773–1831), was destined for the Church but nonetheless joined the firm and directed it after his father’s death. He was particularly interested in Classical civilization and published several books on the subject—A Disquisition upon Etruscan Vases (London, 1806) and (posthumously) An Inquiry into the Early History of Greek Sculpture (London, 1833). In 1824 he moved the auction house to 8 King Street, London, where it has since remained, except for a period during and after World War II, when bomb damage necessitated a temporary move. Achieving a reputation as a prominent connoisseur, Christie the younger was elected to the Dilettanti Society in 1824 and to the Athenaeum Club in 1826. During his lifetime he retained sole control of the firm and took no partners. On his death, however, his son George Henry Christie (d 1887) brought William Manson (d 1852) into partnership, so forming Christie & Manson. In 1859 Thomas H. Woods also became a partner, and the firm became Christie, Manson & Woods. During George Henry Christie’s tenure the sale took place of the collection of Richard Plantagenet-Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, at Stowe in 1848. This caused a sensation because of the Duke’s distinguished family history and was the first of an increasing number of dispersals of aristocratic collections.
With the retirement in 1889 of James Christie, the great grandson of the founder, the last member of the Christie family left the firm, but, though new partners were brought in, the name did not change. In 1941 Christie’s premises suffered a direct hit during the Blitz of London in World War II, and the firm therefore moved to Derby House (now the Oriental Club). After the War, in 1947, Christie’s moved again—to Spencer House—returning to its rebuilt premises in King Street only in 1953. In 1973 Christie’s became a public company. Two years later Christie’s South Kensington was established, followed in 1977 by Christie’s, New York. The firm now operates on a vastly expanded scale, with over 100 offices in 37 countries. The principal centres are London and New York, but regular auctions are also held in Geneva, St Moritz, Monte Carlo, Rome, Milan, Athens, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Melbourne and Tel Aviv. Sales cover over 80 categories, ranging from Old Master pictures, Impressionist art, furniture, jewellery and Oriental art to collectibles, wine, stamps and motor cars. In 1993 Christie’s acquired Spink & Son Ltd (founded 1666), the distinguished art and numismatic firm. Spink’s activities have also broadened, and they are now both dealers and auctioneers, specializing in coins, banknotes, medals, numismatic books, as well as British pictures and Oriental art. Furthermore, Spink’s design and manufacture medals and modern commemorative coins. Christie’s has its own printing company (White Brothers and Woods of Perth); other subsidiaries include Christie’s Images and Christie’s Fine Art Security Services Ltd. Moreover, Christie’s has established a reputation for its educational courses on the fine and decorative arts and on training for the commercial art world.
Since 1766, Christie’s has handled many of the sales of works of art from the great collections. Some of the landmarks include: the private treaty sale negotiated in 1778 of Sir Robert Walpole’s art collection to Catherine the Great; the four-day sale in 1795 of Sir Joshua Reynolds’s collection; the sale by James Christie of Mme du Barry’s jewels following her execution in 1793; the 17-day sale in 1882 of the Hamilton Palace collection, in which 11 pictures were bought by the National Gallery, London; and the sale in 1984 of 71 Old Master drawings from Chatsworth House, Derbys, which realized £21 million. In 1994, one of the great sales of the century took place when Christie’s auctioned works of art from Houghton, on behalf of the Marquess of Cholmondeley—nearly 200 years after James Christie sold the Walpole pictures from the same house.
Most of the world’s auction records are held by Christie’s: Gainsborough’s portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire (Chatsworth House, Derbys) was the first work of art to sell for £10,000 (in 1876); Velázquez’s portrait of Juan de Pareja (New York, Met.) was the first work of art to sell for more than £1 million (it realized £2.3 million in 1970). Mantegna’s Adoration of the Magi (Malibu, CA, Getty Mus.) was the most expensive Old Master picture ever sold when it achieved £8.1 million in 1985. This record was broken when Christie’s sold Pontormo’s Portrait of a Halberdier (Malibu, CA, Getty Mus.) for £22.3 million in 1989. In 1990 Christie’s sold the celebrated Badminton Cabinet (Princeton, NJ, Mrs Johnson priv. col.) for £8.58 million—a world record price for any work of art other than a picture. In the same year, van Gogh’s portrait of Dr Gachet (Japan, priv. col.) broke all records when it sold for $82.5 million (£49.1 million). Throughout Christie’s long history, its sales have been a barometer not only of economic prosperity but also of artistic taste
Noël Annesley. "Christie’s." In Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online, http://www.oxfordartonline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T017492 (accessed May 1, 2012).
Person TypeInstitution
