Art auction houses’ websites never busier as collectors bid online – there’s not much else to spend money on, or to invest in amid coronavirus crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has put a pause on live auctions, but major auctioneers such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s are moving sales online

‘The thing we feared most is probably going to be our saviour,’ says a director at Bonhams; the trend could expose a tech divide between big and small players

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The coronavirus pandemic has put a pause on live auctions, but large art houses like Christie’s are going online as collectors continue to buy. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:15pm, 16 Apr 2020Updated: 7:15pm, 16 Apr 2020

The coronavirus pandemic poses a huge global challenge to auction houses large and small, but those that have embraced technology could prosper as nervous investors seek a safe haven, according to experts.

Major London-based auctioneer Sotheby’s has closed its London, Hong Kong, Dubai, Geneva, Milan, Paris and New York offices, throwing its marquee May auctions into doubt.

Main rival Christie’s, meanwhile, said it was “working swiftly” to reschedule postponed auctions.

“It’s a threat to all of us, but I do think we’ll get through it,” says Giles Peppiatt, director for modern and contemporary African art at fellow London-based auction giant Bonhams.

An auctioneer takes bids for the sale of David Hockney's Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures). Christie’s says it is “working swiftly” to reschedule postponed auctions. Photo: AFP

Although no longer able to hold live auctions, the pandemic has accelerated the move to online sales.