Sotheby’s auction house is putting works by photographers from Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray and Richard Avedon to Ansel Adams and Terry O’Neill up for sale on eBay tomorrow.
The leading London-based auction house has joined forces with eBay for a series of live auctions, to be held on a dedicated live auction site built on the eBay platform. The first sale, themed ‘Photographs’, is billed as the history of photography in 188 lots. It will be followed by a second sale themed ‘New York’.
By using the eBay platform, Sotheby’s aims to open up real-time participation in the auction to the 155m shoppers who are registered to use eBay.
eBay and Sotheby’s promise that the experience will enable “art aficionados and casual collectors alike to participate in Sotheby’s live auctions anytime, anywhere with the same confidence and access of those bidding in person in the New York salesroom.”
Bidders need to register for the auction at least 24 hours in advance. Sotheby’s and eBay say that: “Participants — regardless of their location — see the exact same item and current real-time bidding online and experience real-time bidding sensitive to the millisecond, allowing them to bid as if they were lifting a paddle with every click of the mouse. New technology debuting within the Sotheby’s live auctions will give users the first chance to experience crystal clear, live streaming video and audio from the Sotheby’s floor in New York.”
Image: Thundercloud, Unicorn Peak, Yosemite National Park, California by Ansel Adams. Copyright Sotheby’s.
