The Auctioneer
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
The Auctioneer
| Full title | The Auctioneer: Adventures in the Art Trade |
|---|---|
| Author | Simon de Pury |
| Published | 2016 |
| Pages | 240 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | De Pury ran Sotheby’s Europe and then Phillips, and his memoir is the art market seen from the rostrum — how consignments are won, how guarantees and reserves work, who the buyers actually are. The industry answer for the art trade, from someone who set the prices. |
Where I heard about it
- Replies to @WillManidis — named in the answers to his question “what is the single best book you can read that will explain an entire industry?” (the thread, June 2025). The full list of replies is on what is the single best book… (tweet).
Connections
- Capital Allocation — art as an asset class, priced by a mechanism most people never see.
- Brand — the auction house’s name is the product.
- Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy — the other end of the same trade: how pictures were commissioned and paid for before there was a market.
- what is the single best book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.