Museum Services

A DEDICATED TEAM
Working with an international team of specialists in over 80 fields, Christie’s Museum Services department offers a variety of customized services, including:

Appraisals
For single objects or large collections, we provide a range of appraisals, including Insurance valuations for outgoing loans, Charitable Donation appraisals, and Indemnification appraisals.

Buying
We facilitate the process from start to finish, including introductions to our experts, assistance in setting up bidding, arranging special payment terms, and shipping assistance.

Selling
Our services include providing Auction Estimates and Sale Proposals tailored to your specific needs and concerns.We also work with institutions on private sales independent of the auction timeline.

Special Events
We offer our specialists for participation in lectures and symposia, coordinate social and educational events for your patrons in Christie’s international galleries, and also provide benefit auctioneers for your fundraising initiatives.

EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
Museums large and small rely on Christie’s expertise and exceptional performance at all price levels. Since 2006, they have entrusted us with sales of deaccessioned artworks in excess of $205 million. While the art market has experienced corrections in prices not unlike those in the financial markets in recent months, we have witnessed the unwavering desirability of museum property among collectors around the world.

In 2009 alone, museum property has been selling (YTD) 92% by both lot and value. From September 2008 through September 2009, over 50 non-profits realized more than $35 million from sales of deaccessioned artwork at Christie’s. In this period, when the art market experienced corrections of about 30% on average, museum property continued to sell for an impressive 85% by lot (compared to approximately 60 - 70% for other sellers). Moreover, this is only slightly down from the averages realized in 2008 (93%) and 2007 (94%). These figures are a clear demonstration of the continued, unflagging desirability of artworks offered for sale by non-profit institutions.

Recent clients include:
Art Institute of Chicago
Carnegie Museum of Art
Cincinnati Art Museum
Corcoran Gallery of Art
Denver Art Museum
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Harvard Art Museums
Hispanic Society
Indianapolis Museum of Art
 Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago)
Museum of Modern Art
New Orleans Museum of Art
Southworth Library
Saint Louis Art Museum
Virginia Museum of Fine Art
Walters Art Museum

Contact Us

For further information and to find out how Christie's Museum Services team can assist your institution, please contact:

Allison Whiting Senior Vice President
Director of Museum Services
awhiting@christies.com Tel: + 1 212 636 2618

Mary E. Phelps Account Manager
mphelps@christies.com Tel: + 1 212 636 2396