Sotheby's Department Of Scientific Research Celebrates First Anniversary

The Groundbreaking Department Remains Unique in the Auction World

Hundreds of Objects Totaling $100+ Million Examined in 2017, Across Fine Art, Wine, Porcelain and More

Including a 'Suprematist' Painting by Kazimir Malevich Sold for $21.2 Million This Spring

State-of-the-Art Laboratories Established in New York and London, With Plans to Expand in Hong Kong

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Dec 05, 2017, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- One year ago today, Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) announced the acquisition of Orion Analytical, the leading materials analysis and consulting firm in the art world, and hired its founder, Jamie Martin, to establish a Department of Scientific Research. It was the first – and still only – department of its kind in the auction world. In just one year, dramatic progress has been made in the integration of science and technology with the world-class expertise and provenance research behind the works of art, objects and wine offered by Sotheby's.

Sotheby's groundbreaking Scientific Research Department celebrates its first anniversary - hundreds of objects totaling more than $100 million were examined in 2017 across fine art, wine, porcelain and more, including this 'Suprematist' painting by Kazimir Malevich that sold for $21.2 million this spring.

Jamie Martin, Director of Sotheby's groundbreaking Department of Scientific Research, commented: "It's been an incredibly energizing year for me at Sotheby's. I'm particularly inspired by my work with specialists worldwide – it is the combination of their art historical knowledge with our laboratories' analysis that has led to our most impactful determinations. In 2018 I look forward to expanding our capabilities both geographically and into a greater variety of materials, as Sotheby's world affords us access to the very best of fine art, furniture, wine and beyond."

State-of-the-art laboratory opened in Sotheby's New York headquarters
Only the 4^th laboratory in the United States,
Alongside Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art and J. Paul Getty Museum,
To Acquire a Bruker M6 Jetstream: Revolutionary German X-Ray Fluorescence Technology
That Maps the Composition of Works

Facility in London Opened to Serve the United Kingdom and Continental Europe
Plans to Establish a Similar Facility in Hong Kong
Portable Capability Available for Worldwide Use

Collaboration with Sotheby's Specialists Across 15 Different Collecting Categories in New York, London, Paris, Geneva and Hong Kong
To Examine Hundreds of Paintings, Works on Paper, Bronze and Stone Sculpture,
Furniture and Wine Valued at More than $100 Million
– Investigating Construction, Composition, and Condition and
Providing Leads for Attributions and Dispute Resolutions –

Additional Staff Recruited Including:
Technical Art Historian & Research Coordinator, Assistant Conservation Scientist and
London Project Administrator

CASE STUDY
Materials analysis revealed an unusual blue paint in Kazimir Malevich's painting Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection, and infrared photography revealed changes the artist made in the composition at an earlier stage.

Further research into the blue paint led the Sotheby's Scientific Research Department to another painting by the artist in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago: Painterly Realism of a Football Player – Color Masses in the 4^th Dimension, 1915. Not only did both works contain the same blue paint additive (basic magnesium carbonate); both paintings also revealed changes Malevich made to the compositions throughout the execution process.

The analysis conducted by Scientific Research Department, together with provenance research conducted by specialists in Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Department, provided insight into unique materials and creative processes, lending physical evidence in support of the art historical understanding of the painting and the artist's greater oeuvre.

Suprematist Composition with Plane in Projection, 1915 was sold at Sotheby's in New York on May 16, 2017 for $21.2 million after a prolonged battle between four bidders – topping its $18 million high estimate, and marking the 4^th-highest auction price for Kazimir Malevich.

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Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

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SOURCE Sotheby's