After four years of servitude, Steven P. Murphy steps down as CEO for Christie’s. As one of the leading art business in the world (Sotheby being the other), Christie’s saw record numbers under his auspices. The company earned over 4 billion euros during the first half of 2014. According to his colleagues and himself, his term was successful in reaching all his targets. Murphy will be succeeded by Patricia Barbizot, who was and will stay Chairman of Christie’s.
Christie’s is based in London but has offices and auction rooms throughout the world. The company was started by James Christie in 1766, who organized auctions in Pall Mall, a well known street in London. The core business of the art giant is still auctioning art and related goods, but also helps individuals with buying art. Needless to say that there are vast amounts of money going around at Christie’s. The worldwide crises have not affected this given much.
Photos by Frederik Balfour/Bloomberg