The Arts Society Salisbury Lecture
- £8.00
- 09 Jun 26
- St Francis' Church, Beatrice Road, Salisbury
- 13:50 - 15:00
A lecture by The Arts Society accredited lecturer Simon Cottle entitled A Piece of the Auction: Behind the Scenes of an International auction House.
Visitors are welcome, whether alone or as the guest of a member. There is a charge of £8 per lecture, which is waived should you decide there and then to become a member. Please see our website through the MORE DETAILS button to the right for information on our other activities and membership.
The international art market is today dominated by four British auction houses, all founded in the 18th century, their record prices sensationally reported by the world's media. But what is it like behind the canvas? How do auction houses function? What goes on behind the scenes and what is required for a successful sale to take place? With an historical overview and the inside stories behind the rise of the four leading international salerooms, based particularly in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong, this partly interactive lecture, given by an auctioneer and specialist with almost forty years' experience in Sotheby's and Bonhams, reveals all.
Lecturer Biography:
Leading international specialist, author, auctioneer and lecturer in British and European Glass, now retired. Formerly Managing Director (Bonhams Europe) and Director of European Ceramics and Glass at Bonhams Auctioneers, London (2007-2023). Formerly Head of European Ceramics and Glass at Sotheby's, where he was also a Director and auctioneer (1990 to 2007). He is responsible for numerous landmark auctions of European Glass both at Sotheby's and Bonhams. After studying History at University College Cardiff and the University of Washington and holding a postgraduate diploma in Museum and Art Gallery Studies from Manchester University, he began his career as a senior curator of ceramics, glass and silver at museums in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Glasgow (1979-1990). He is Hon. President of the Glass Society, Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers and a Fellow of the Corning Museum of Glass, New York.
Image: Simon Cottle at work at Bonhams (by kind permission of Simon Cottle)