Christie's Handles Majority of Estate Business

Christie's, the fine-art auction company, has nurtured relationships with the trusts and estates departments of major law firms.  A Christie's executive summarized the result as follows:

We have been getting the lion’s share of the estate business for close to a decade. We usually have over 55 per cent [of the estate business]. We think it is the most desirable business, is reasonably estimated, the works are fresh to the market, and the market knows they are for sale.

John Dizard, Small lots bring big rewards to Christie's, Financial Times, July 5, 2009.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.