Temple of Art

About the desire for the very special

Now, will ya’ give me? Sold!” Just some of the typical rants heard at the premises of Christie’s, the world’s oldest and most respected art business. Since on December 5, 1766 James Christie conducted his first auction in London, the house has expanded into no fewer than eighty different cate-
gories ranging from fine art to clocks, marine chronometers and barometers. Its price records are well documented and yet many objects become donations to both longstanding and recent clients. Among them many celebrities: Kate Moss once had her own auction valued at a million pounds. For sale: photos, paintings, sculptures, collages and a tapestry of the supermodel. CIO Ken Citron talked to us without reserve of how the company masters the fine line between tradition and digital transformation.