ART MARKET WATCH
Feb. 23, 2007CHRISTIE’S GOES FOR GALLERY GOLDMore than a decade ago,
Sotheby’s New York made some aggressive moves into the "primary market," buying the gallery of Color Field pioneer
Andre Emmerich and teaming up with SoHo dealer
Jeffrey Deitch to organize shows in the venerable Emmerich space in the
Fuller Building at 41 West 57th Street. The logic seemed impeccable at the time. As Deitch explained, for every winning bidder for a high-priced lot at auction, there was an underbidder willing to pay almost as much. All an auction house needed was a sharp-eyed dealer who could make something happen with that frustrated shopper, thus doubling sales volume, or almost.
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