Episode 11: The Show Goes On: Sotheby's Adapts to the Pandemic

Nov 6

Charlie Adamski Caulkins

Vice President, Head of Office, Dallas, Sotheby's

This week I speak with Charlie Adamski Caulkins, Vice President, Head of Office, for Sotheby's in Dallas.

Established in 1744, Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992), and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong, and Paris.

When we spoke in May the future of live auctions that have been a fixture of the art market since the 18th century were placed on hold indefinitely. We talked about her ascent up the auction house ladder from New York to San Francisco and now Texas as well as Sotheby’s role as a market leader. Fortunately, we caught up in October following the debut of Sotheby’s new auction format, the first-ever global live-streamed auction. She shares some of the mechanics behind the house’s bold digital moves and the state of the market. Taking bids in real-time from Hong Kong, London, and New York with socially distanced specialists resulted in record-breaking sales, proving that the demand for great art had not waned. Our follow-up was taped days after the newsworthy October 28th sales where the Baltimore Museum of Art removed two works it planned for deaccession just hours before the auction. Charlie talks about the relationship between auction houses and museums, the pandemic’s silver linings, and how she’s always working to deliver for her clients.