Published: 06 May 2021
The Auction Collective was established by former Christie's auctioneer and Contemporary Art Specialist Tom Best. Tom spent six years at Christie’s London as an auctioneer, and two years in international development before combining these twin passions for art and social good in The Auction Collective.
The Auction Collective was created to provide a fresh approach to the art and auction market.
Tom's idea was to take the best of Britain's auction tradition and bring it up to date by making it more streamlined, more transparent, more affordable and more accessible.
In doing so he was able to open up the auction model and its advantages to a new community of artists and art lovers.
For the first auctions, all we had were an Instagram account, a gavel and a credit-card reader. Every auction, a group of artists, art lovers and their family and friends, would gather in a room in Shoreditch to see a one-day exhibition and bid for artwork.
The Auction Collective was created to provide a fresh approach to the art and auction market. Tom's idea was to take the best of Britain's auction tradition and bring it up to date by making it more streamlined, more transparent, more affordable and more accessible. In doing so he was able to open up the auction model and its advantages to a new community of artists and art lovers.
“The idea for The Auction Collective began in 2017. For the first auctions, all we had were an Instagram account, a gavel and a credit-card reader. Every auction, a group of artists, art lovers and their family and friends, would gather in a room in Shoreditch to see a one-day exhibition and bid for artwork.
The Auction Collective has come a long way since then. We've developed the world's first downloadable bidding paddles. We use the latest FinTech to get art to buyers and sale proceeds to artists as soon as possible. We have created an innovative and interactive live stream bidding platform. We now offer monthly payment options for buyers. And our little group of art-loving friends has grown to an international network of collectors.” Tom Best, The Auction Collective (2021)
The idea for The Auction Collective began in 2017. For the first auctions, all we had were an Instagram account, a gavel and a credit-card reader. Every auction, a group of artists, art lovers and their family and friends, would gather in a room in Shoreditch to see a one-day exhibition and bid for artwork.
The Auction Collective has come a long way since then. We've developed the world's first downloadable bidding paddles. We use the latest FinTech to get art to buyers and sale proceeds to artists as soon as possible. We have created a suite of innovative and interactive auction formats. We offer monthly payment options for buyers. And our little group of art-loving friends has grown to an international network of collectors.
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