3. What is the role of the auction house in the art world?

Today we asked Cheyenne Westphal, global chairwoman of Phillips Auction House:

What is the role of the auction house in the art world?

And have you ever wondered:

• How is an art auction organized and what exactly happens in the room? Who is in attendance? Who decides what work is selling?
• What is the “art calendar?”
• How is work priced at auction? Who decides starting numbers and how? What are the challenges of this system?
• How might the role of the auction house change in the coming years?

Get bona fide answers and advice from Cheyenne on Episode 3 of Declassified.

About Cheyenne:

In 2019, Forbes called Cheyenne the most powerful woman in contemporary art. Here’s why-

From 1999-2016, after graduating from undergrad at St. Andrews in Scotland and Cal Berkeley with a Masters in Art History, Cheyenne worked as the worldwide head of contemporary art at Sotheby’s, where she oversaw the auction house’s contemporary sales in Europe. During that time, she facilitated countless record-breaking and reputation-making sales, including bringing several significant private collections to market. In 2017, she moved up the food chain and over to Phillips, where she became the auction house’s global chairwoman, which is the position she holds now.

Cheyenne has a tremendous amount of art world experience, which she lends to her associates at Phillips, her collector clients, to Whitechapel Galleries in London and to the Association for Women in the Arts (AWITA) where she is on the advisory board.

Find her on IG: @cheyenne_westphal

Definitions and more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/westphal & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!