Does A Top Christie's Contemporary Art Exec Leaving Open The Door For Sotheby's?

Sothebys BID shares were up more than 4.6 percent on Thursday following news from rival auction house Christie’s that long-time chairman Brett Gorvy is departing the company. Gorvy spearheaded an era of massive success for Christie’s while serving as head of postwar and contemporary art.

Gorvy will be teaming up with dealer Dominique Levy to create the brand new Levy Gorvy gallery.

Traders may be speculating that Gorvy’s absence at Christie’s will be an opportunity for Sotheby’s. The departure of Christie’s top contemporary art executive could leave the door open for Sotheby’s to swoop in and target collectors that were loyal to Gorvy.

Sotheby’s has also been aggressively pursuing targeted acquisitions to better-position itself in the art world. Sotheby’s recently acquired Orion Analytical, a state-of-the-art firm that specializes in art inspection and forgery identification. The acquisition suggests Sotheby’s is placing an added emphasis on security and likely means that each piece of art passing through the house will soon be subject to a heightened level of scrutiny.

Sotheby’s also purchased the Mei Moses Indices last month. The indices were created to accurately measure the fluctuating values of art pieces that have been sold at major auction houses multiple times. According to Sotheby’s, the data will complement the “world-class expertise of the Company’s specialists."

The market certainly agrees with Sotheby’s recent moves. Sotheby’s stock is now up 16.6 percent since November 1.