Did you know that you can watch the Christie’s auction of Michael Crichton’s art collection online? Just go to the website, click on “Calendar”, and click on the “Enter Sale” button for the auction. You can watch auctions as a viewer only. I watched a wine auction on Saturday. Nice spectator sport.
The auction of Crichton’s art collection is in two parts.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 6:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)
Sale 2406 - Works from the Collection of Michael Crichton
31 lots
Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 10 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time)
Post-War and Contemporary Art Morning Session Including Works from the Collection of Michael Crichton
224 lots – the first 47 are from Crichton’s art collection
Make certain you get logged in well before the auctions begin, as things move fast. You can enter a sale up to 15 minutes before the start of the sale.
(On a side note, my catalogue for the Crichton auction arrived last week. It’s beautiful, and very informative. I highly recommend it for dedicated Crichton fans. The e-catalogue may be taken off the website once the auction is over.)
It’s pleasant to think that there will come a day when I can actually bid during a Christie’s auction. But there’s something I would have to do to prepare.
My small black female cat Asimov has an impressive talent for jumping on my computer at the worst possible moment. She’s caused so many problems over the years that her photo is on “Wanted” posters at call centers across the country.
From Christie’s Live Terms of Use:
If your computer is logged on to Christie's Live™ and a successful bid is sent to Christie's from your computer, you are accepting personal liability to pay the purchase price, including the buyer's premium and all applicable taxes and other applicable charges.
A live auction is by its nature fast-moving and competitive bidding can often progress very quickly. To ensure that online bidders are not placed at a disadvantage when bidding against bidders in the room or on the telephone, the procedure for placing bids through Christie's Live™ is a one-step process. As soon as the "Bid" button is clicked a bid is submitted. You acknowledge that this is necessary in order to ensure that online bids are submitted and received as promptly as bids from other sources. You also accept and agree that bids submitted in this way are final and that you will not under any circumstances be permitted to amend or retract your bid.
In other words, Christie’s will not accept the excuse “My cat bid on that painting.”
So if I ever want to bid online during an auction, I must first secure the cats. My female cat is capable of blowing my entire credit limit on something I don’t even like.
“No! Don’t bid ten thousand for that painting! Bad cat! Bad!”
2 comments:
Or "No! Don't bid ten million for that flag! Bad cat! Bad!" :-)
I have questions about the catalogue - how is it large? Is it hardback or paperback? And what about the quality of printing and paper?
The catalogue is paperback, with stiff cardboard covers. The front cover folds out into Jasper Johns’ Flag and the back cover folds out into John’s Study for a Painting.
The catalogue is 11 inches (27.94 centimeters) tall, 9 inches (22.86 centimeter) wide, and ¾ of an inch (1.91 centimeters) thick. The paper is high quality glossy and the printing is superb. It really is beautiful.
I don’t think I have to worry about my cat bidding ten million for anything. I’m sure Christie’s makes certain that you have the ability to come up with that kind of money before they let you place a bid on something that expensive.
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