In the art world, the combination of in-person and virtual experiences have forged new territory. Sotheby’s New York saleroom was redesigned by Hamilton set designer David Korins to launch gala-style sales, which are streamed online while hosting a number of clients in person. Sotheby’s began accepting cryptocurrency as payment for a physical artwork via Coinbase, such as Banksy’s ‘Love is in the Air’1 , which sold to applause after a 14-minute bidding battle for $12.9 million, the second-highest auction price for the artist. Other recent records include a large-scale water lily painting by Claude Monet which achieved $70.4 million; Basquiat’s Ultimate Challenge to Status Quo, which sold for $50.8 Million; as a total of 11 new auction records were recently set across three sales of Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Art in New York.
Partnerships are also expanding. Christie’s worked with Microsoft to create ‘skyboxes’ which brought the virtual audience into the auction room through an enhanced 360-degree live viewing experience for the global livestream. Troy Batterberry, Vice President, Microsoft Teams, remarked: “Christie’s continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible by finding new ways of integrating technology to drive value for their audiences. The first-ever Virtual Skyboxes using Microsoft Teams is a brilliant showcase of how the physical and digital worlds can come together to deliver a unique hybrid experience for their guests.”2
Bonhams and LiveAuctioneers, a premier online auction-aggregator sites for art, antiques, jewellery and collectables in the United States, joined forces in order to reach the North American audience. Marc Sands, Bonhams’ Chief Marketing Officer, said: “Partnering with LiveAuctioneers will further enhance our digital strategy and will make us even more accessible to new clients.” Bonhams also acquired the fastest
