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Art Auctioneer
Conducts auctions of art, antiques, and collectibles — evaluating worth and conducting dramatic sales.
Did you know?
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction was Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" for $450 million
How subjects help
- History: Trace who owned a painting before so buyers can trust it is genuine and not stolen.
- Business Studies: Set starting prices and agree fees with sellers so each sale is worthwhile.
- Communication: Keep a busy saleroom excited and call out rising bids quickly and clearly.
- Economics: Judge how much buyers will pay by tracking what similar works sold for recently.
A famous name
Simon de Pury: Swiss auctioneer who was chief auctioneer at Sotheby's and later ran the Phillips de Pury auction house.
Try it yourself: Write a museum label for an old object
- Choose the object and look at it closely: what is it made of, and what marks of use does it have?
- Ask an older family member what they remember about it, or about things like it.
- Write a short museum label: what it is, roughly when it is from, who used it, and why it matters.
- Keep it under 50 words. What did you have to leave out?
Curators and archivists research objects, check facts, and tell their stories in very few words.
Also try: Run a one-minute show with a cue sheet.
Known for it in
UK, USA, France, Switzerland, China