For over 40 years, Christie's South Kensington branch (CSK) has successfully orchestrated its lower value sales in a broad number of categories. In its heyday, it would sometimes hold up to 15 in one week, drawing wealthy collectors as well as dealers into sales of furniture, pottery, posters and other works of art one might find at "antique" stores. In fact, the Antiques Roadshow grew out of CSK. Marion Falling demand for the sort of objects sold at CSK is another likely reason for the closure of Christie's secondary showroom.
Dealer Julian Hartnoll, reported by Colin Gleadell in a Telegraph article, thinks CSK had become an anachronism because it couldn’t make the step from wholesaler, selling to the trade, to retailer.
The ArtNewspaper shares memories of a generation of dealers and collectors who learned the industry from the grounds at Christie's South Kensington. Read here for the full story.
replacing the live sales at CSK.