This December, as part of its inaugural series of seasonal auctions, The Auction Collective presents The Christmas Auction, a group show and auction of 100 artworks handpicked from a variety of today's artists. Starting bids from £50 to £5,000.
The Auction Collective was established by former Christie's auctioneer and Specialist Tom Best. It was created to provide a fresh approach to the art 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 and more affordable.
The first auctions were in 2017. We had 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 the 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. And our little group of art-loving friends has grown to an international network of collectors.
The Auction Collective works on five simple principles:
Direct from artists: working directly with emerging and established artists to curate auctions of artwork straight from the studio.
0% buyer’s commission: unlike other auctions, The Auction Collective won't charge you a fee to buy the artwork: what you bid is what you pay.
Quick and simple: seamless registration and bidding technology makes buying original art in a live auction as simple as buying an online train ticket.
Keeping it real: with The Auction Collective there will always be a physical exhibition and live auction. When buying an original work of art, nothing can replace the pleasure of seeing a piece in person or the thrill of bidding for it in a live auction.
Art for everyone: The Auction Collective will continue to innovate, finding new ways to bring affordable art-buying to the widest audience, wherever they are.