At Issue – Price Fixing by Art Dealers and Auction Houses

1. Dealers, Auction Houses and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act While the Ganz and Sharp sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s began what is considered the most successful sales season in seven years, the two auction houses and a group of America’s most distinguished art dealers were served with subpoenas by the United States Justice Department.

Although relatively little is known about it yet, the investigation centers on collusion among art dealers buying at auction and, at the same time, on a possible collusion between the two major auction houses who set both seller’s commissions and buyer’s premiums.

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The above is an excerpt from an article by Elin Lake-Ewald, Ph.D, ASA, RICS, published in the ASA Personal Property Journal, Winter 1998.

To read the complete article please click here:

PPJ Vol 10 (1) 1998 Winter At Issue - Price Fixing by Art Dealers and Auction Houses