The Dangerous Battle for Supremacy between art auction houses was highlighted by a New York Times article a few weeks ago:

“The company’s (Sotheby’s) auction sales for the first six months of 2009 added up to $994.8 million, only slightly more than half of Christie’s $1.8 billion. More alarmingly, it represents a 66 percent drop from the first half of 2008.”

 

 

This basically means that Christie’s is leading the battle (at least for now) and has taken measures to expand. It’s opening a New York Christie’s storage space in Red Hook Brooklyn where…

 ”come January, Christie’s executives say, the building will boast infrared video cameras, biometric readers and motion-activated monitors, as well as smoke-, heat- and water-detection systems.

Inside, the warehouse will hold the likes of van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and Brancusi, with each collection potentially worth more than the building itself.”

 

Christie’s is expanding to accommodate its clients and potentially show their strength and ability to survive over Sotheby’s as they build storage spaces near both their New York and Singapore locations. Previously, they only had a storage space near their London office.

These big industrial buildings found in Brooklyn and Queens are perfect for being turned into storage spaces, like the art storage company  SurroundArt.

 But come January, Christie’s executives say, the building will boast infrared video cameras, biometric readers and motion-activated monitors, as well as smoke-, heat- and water-detection systems.

Inside, the warehouse will hold the likes of van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and Brancusi, with each collection potentially worth more than the building itself.