Contract
Temporary Business Director
Sotheby’s
1,001-5,000 employees
Global auction house handling fine art
Compensation Overview
$48 - $58/hr
New York, NY, USA
In Person
 Business & Strategy (2) |
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- Bachelor's degree
- 5+ years of professional experience in a business management, banking, financial or consulting role
- Strong communication and relationship-building skills; ability to succinctly present to stakeholders from a variety of backgrounds
- Advanced Excel skills
- Highly organized, detail oriented, multi-tasker
- Confident team player, capable of working well independently in ambiguous situations
- Support the pipeline of business opportunities and deals to drive sales and accountability, in active collaboration with internal stakeholders.
- Lead, manage, and track all New York auction consignments; with oversight from senior Business Management where appropriate
- Support the development of financial models (revenue and expense) for auction consignments; approve/escalate where appropriate.
- Prepare client facing deal communication and take a client facing role for commercial terms, when required.
- Serve as the first business point of contact for negotiations for consignments, vendors, consultants, or other third parties, including corresponding legal agreements with Legal team; with oversight from senior Business Management where appropriate.
- Support annual budget planning and regular forecasting in partnership with senior Business Management.
- Translate financial results and KPIs into operational recommendations to optimize the business.
- Manage all sale and department expenses; with oversight from senior Business Management where appropriate.
- Regularly review and develop plans for Sotheby’s inventory, in partnership with Operations and Finance teams.
- Act in a client-facing capacity and as an internal conduit to troubleshoot escalated pre- and post- sale issues
- Work with Pre and Post sale on Sale settlement to maintain a high-level oversight, Extended Payments approval and accountability and billing for non-standard transactions.
- Act as a strategic partner for senior management by reviewing competitive analysis, maintaining market share reporting, and analyzing trends in deal making.
- Research potential additional revenue streams and partner with key internal stakeholders to develop business plans.
- Work collaboratively to propose, manage, and implement efficiencies, integration, and adoption for new IT and digital improvements aligned to overall responsibilities.
- Prior deal or contract negotiation experience preferred
- Prior art experience is not required, but an interest or curiosity in art or other luxury objects is encouraged
1) What it does: Sotheby’s runs high-end auctions and private sales of fine art, luxury items, and collectibles for global collectors and investors. 2) How its products work: It holds live and online auctions where items are sold to the highest bidder, and also facilitates private sales directly between sellers and buyers. Revenue comes from commissions on final sale prices and service fees such as appraisals; it also provides online estimates to help sellers gauge value. 3) How it’s different: It combines a global auction network with discreet private sales, strong appraisal expertise, and curated collections, allowing access to both broad, open bidding and private, personalized transactions. 4) Goal: To connect sellers with buyers in the high-end market, maximizing value for items and delivering trusted, expert valuation and sales services for rare and valuable possessions.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
New York City, New York
Founded
1744
Get referred to Sotheby’s
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- H1 2026 consolidated sales hit $4.4B, up 58%, with auctions rising 59% to $3.4B and private sales up 52% to $826M.
- Luxury categories drove growth: watches up 64%, RM Sotheby's cars at record sales, and Concierge Auctions grew 18%.
- Sell-through rate reached 90% with 4.9 bidders per lot, the highest since 2010, signaling strong market confidence and demand.
What critics are saying
- A $10.2M lawsuit from Cushman & Wakefield for unpaid commission and 7% annual interest on client delays signals immediate liquidity failure risk.
- Owner Patrick Drahi's debt-heavy strategy left over $1B in deferred client liabilities and a $248M tax loss in 2024, risking forced asset liquidation.
- The $100M KKR facility and $825M bond refinancing increase leverage; devalued auction fee collateral could trigger credit downgrade or refinancing denial.
What makes Sotheby’s unique
- Sotheby's uniquely blends live auctions, record private sales of $826M, and luxury hospitality partnerships like Ritz-Carlton in-suite jewelry shopping.
- Its new 'In Residence' museum series at the Breuer building creates exclusive public access to masterworks, unlike traditional auction-only models.
- Sotheby's Financial Services offers $1.8B+ loan portfolio and securitizations, functioning as a hybrid auction house and private wealth adviser.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Life Insurance
Disability Insurance
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Holidays
401(k) Company Match
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Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
↑ 1%1 year growth
↑ 1%2 year growth
↑ 1%Auction houses made significant recoveries in 2026, ArtTactic report finds. * Tue. Jul 14th, 2026 8:35:25 AM Jul 14, 2026 Total sales for Sotheby's first half of 2026 stand at $2.8bn, up 71% from $1.6bn in 2025, according to ArtTactic Courtesy of Sotheby's Global auction sales at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips were up 70% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, at $6.8bn (including fees), according to a report released this week by the analysts ArtTactic. After two weaker years, it is the best first-half performance since 2022. The strongest growth was seen in London, where total sales rose 131% to $1.42bn according to the report, only slightly short of the $1.47bn recorded in the first half of the post-Covid bounce back year of 2022. Overall sell-through rates are healthier too - at 91% so far this year, bolstered by 131 white-glove auctions. ArtTactic's total auction sales calculations - which do not include car sales - for 2026 thus far stand at $3.4bn for Christie's (up 71% from $2bn in the first half of 2025), $2.8bn for Sotheby's (up 71% from $1.6bn in 2025) and $505.4m for Phillips (up 59% from $318m in 2025). Of course, major estate auctions in New York and single owner sales such as that of the Lewis collection last month in London have boosted these statistics, but notably market recovery is "proving to be far broader than the headline-grabbing results at the very top end," says Anders Petterson, the founder and chief executive of ArtTactic. "While marquee evening sales have been driven by $5m-plus artworks from major single-owner collections, the strength of day sales demonstrates that confidence has also returned to the market's middle core," Petterson says. "Combined with rising volumes, record online participation, stronger sell-through rates and improving average prices, the recovery is being driven by both quality and quantity." So, rather than simply being a rickety structure teetering on trophy lots, the market appears to be recovering with broader foundations across art and collectibles. Petterson points to the strength of collectibles in particular. Although not included in this report, Heritage Auctions, which specialises in collectibles and memorabilia, posted record half-year sales of $1.4bn on Wednesday, nearly 47% up on the $962m in 2025. According to ArtTactic's report, at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips sales of "luxury collectibles" - a broad definition encompassing watches, design and memorabilia among other items - increased by 25% in the first half of 2026, with memorabilia coming out on top, rising 308% year-on-year to $96.1m and increasing its share of the overall market to 1.4% (0.6% in 2025). Online-only auctions have also recovered, increasing by 22% so far in 2026 from a five year low in 2025, further evidence that the lower and mid-market are strengthening. Some if this is down to sheer volume - a record 33,474 lots have been sold online so far this year. The results appear baffling in the context of seemingly ever increasing geopolitical instability and inflation. But, as Petterson says, buyers at the top are relatively insulated. "Although headlines have focused on inflation, wars and conflicts and slowing economic growth, many art buyers (UHNWIs) have actually seen their wealth increase," he explains, citing the strength of stock markets, with the S&P500 up about 10% this year. "Luxury consumption tends to follow asset prices rather than GDP or consumer confidence," Petterson continues. "Someone whose investment portfolio has risen 10% is far less likely to postpone a $5m painting acquisition due to weaker economic data." That explains some of the top-end demand, but 2026 has also benefitted from some pent-up supply, with collectors reluctant to sell during the bearish market from 2023 until the first half of 2025, Petterson says. But then in the second half of 2025, the success of single-owner collections such as that of Pauline Karpidas, Cindy and Jay Pritzker, and Leonard Lauder inspired confidence and people started to consign again. Confidence is also starting to trickle down, Petterson says: "Initially, the recovery looked confined to the very top of the market - large single-owner collections and $5m+ works - but now we are seeing record sell-through rates in day sales, strong growth in the $50,000 to $500,000 segment, record online auction volumes, higher numbers of lots sold." A case in point is the London market, which benefitted from its March Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and contemporary art auctions being the first main sales season of 2026, buoyed by the tailwind of strong results in the November New York sales of 2025. This, Petterson says, "flipped what looked like to be a terrible year into a positive one." The evening sales in London in March were up 64% year-on-year, he says, "which then gave the confidence needed to announce the Lewis Collection sale at Sotheby's in June which pulled $390m (about 28% of London's H1 2026 total)." Sales of non-fine art collectibles in London have grown by 29% too, but these only account for around 8% of the city's 2026 results thus far. Meanwhile, with the growth of London, New York and Paris's auction markets, Hong Kong's relative market share has fallen even though its sales volume has grown by almost 30% to $764m. Buyer bidding through advisors Gurr Johns, combined with strong Asian interest, buoys London Impressionist and Modern art sales at Christie's and Sotheby's The heads of Christie's, Bonhams and Phillips speak on market shifts, challenges and why they believe their model will succeed Major auction houses have posted steep falls in turnover for the year so far - but some categories, such as luxury goods, are booming The sales at Bonhams, Christie's, Phillips and Sotheby's, spanning two weeks, will test the trade's recent buoyancy
Sotheby's partners with the Virgil Abloh Foundation to sell a set of rare prints to fund university scholarships - The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. July 7, 2026 Sotheby's to Sell Rare Virgil Abloh Screenprints for Wisconsin Scholarship Fund A rare set of four red screenprints by Virgil Abloh (1980-2021) is heading to auction, with proceeds earmarked for a scholarship fund at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The works, made in 2015 as part of Abloh's Off-Wisconsin collaboration with his alma mater, are being offered in Sotheby's Contemporary Discoveries online sale, where bidding opens July 7 with an estimate of $7,000 to $10,000. The prints, numbered four from an edition of ten, were shown at Sotheby's New York headquarters in the Breuer building before the sale opened. Their lettering and text echo Abloh's 2015 redesign of The Red Shirt(TM), the university's signature sports T-shirt, underscoring the designer's habit of moving fluidly between fashion, graphic language, and institutional identity. Abloh's career bridged streetwear, luxury fashion, and contemporary art with unusual force. Trained as an architect, he became Kanye West's creative director, launched Off-White in 2013, and in 2018 was named artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, the first Black person to hold that post. He also collaborated with Takashi Murakami on gallery and museum projects, and his work has continued to circulate across the market in forms ranging from prints and custom Nike sneakers to sculpture. That breadth has translated into a varied auction record. Sotheby's senior adviser Simon Shaw said Abloh has "an established track record as a printmaker," noting that examples have sold for more than $25,000. He added that the present set has never before been offered at auction, making it a notable opportunity for collectors. The sale is being organized with the Virgil Abloh Foundation, led by Shannon Abloh, and its educational purpose is central to the project. Athiththan Selvendran, the foundation's chief creative officer, said Abloh believed education was "one of the most powerful platforms for expanding creative possibility." He added that the foundation's scholarship work is intended to "open doors, break barriers and foster a more equitable and inclusive industry" for underrepresented young creatives, cultural leaders, and changemakers. The Wisconsin scholarship will join a growing portfolio that already includes support for Black undergraduate students in the United States and Black British students at the Royal College of Art in London. For Madison, the sale links a collectible object to a longer philanthropic arc - one that ties Abloh's legacy to access, education, and the next generation of designers and artists.
In Residence: The Hispanic Society Sorollas. The Hispanic Society Museum & Library joins Sotheby's for a first-of-its-kind In Residence showcase featuring three Joaquín Sorolla masterworks in New York. Updated May 14, 2026 7:43 AM PDT New York, NY - May 2026 - The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSM&L) and Sotheby's are pleased to announce In Residence: The Hispanic Society Sorollas, on view at Sotheby's headquarters in New York's historic Breuer building from May 18 - June 1, 2026. This exhibition marks the first collaboration between the two institutions and inaugurates Sotheby's newly established In Residence series, an initiative designed to provide leading museums, from the U.S. and beyond, with a centrally located, prestigious platform for the exhibition of masterworks from their collections, thereby increasing visibility for the museums and providing greater public access to major works of art. This initiative coincides with Sotheby's recent move to the Breuer building on Madison Avenue, formerly home of the Whitney Museum of American Art. At the center of the presentation are three exceptional paintings by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863 - 1923), drawn from the Hispanic Society's renowned holdings, the largest collection of the artist's work outside of Spain. The exhibition includes Sea Idyll (1909), a luminous and immersive beach scene; Louis Comfort Tiffany (1911), a rare portrait of the American designer set within his Long Island garden; and Señora de Sorolla in a Spanish Mantilla (1902), an intimate portrayal of the artist's wife. Together, these works reflect Sorolla's extraordinary ability to move fluidly between landscape and portraiture, capturing light, movement, and modern life with unmatched vitality. "This collaboration with Sotheby's represents a meaningful opportunity for us to raise awareness about the Hispanic Society Museum & Library's mission, collection, and activity in New York City and beyond," says Guillaume Kientz, Director and CEO of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library. "Presenting Sorolla's works at the Breuer building fits the unique history of this U.S. landmark, from its initial time as the Whitney to recent occupancies by the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick Collection. We are excited and humbled to follow their footsteps in offering together with Sotheby's a new dialogue between a museum collection and this glorious architecture." This presentation coincides with a pivotal moment for the Hispanic Society Museum & Library. In 2026, the institution marks the centenary of the installation of Sorolla's monumental mural cycle, Vision of Spain, a landmark achievement commissioned by founder Archer M. Huntington and installed in 1926. The anniversary will be celebrated through new programming, including a public kiosk exhibition on Audubon Terrace featuring letters, sketches, and preparatory studies related to the murals. The exhibition also aligns with the Hispanic Society's broader international vision, including the launch of The Hispanic Society of America València - Colección Sorolla, a major initiative that will bring over 200 works by Sorolla from the museum's collection to Valencia, the artist's native city, beginning in September 2026. The presentation of Señora de Sorolla in a Spanish Mantilla offers a preview of the Hispanic Society's upcoming exhibition, The Mantilla: Interlacing Identities, which will explore the history of this distinctive garment of Spanish women's fashion, stretching from the 16th century to the present day. The exhibition, which opens at the Hispanic Society in November 2026, will feature Señora de Sorolla in a Spanish Mantilla alongside other paintings, prints, textiles, and decorative arts from the collection. Installed within Sotheby's galleries, In Residence: The Hispanic Society Sorollas creates a compelling dialogue between institutional and commercial contexts, offering a new model for short-term museum loans and expanding public access to significant works of art. The presentation also serves as an invitation for audiences to engage more deeply with the Hispanic Society's collection and its campus in Washington Heights. Christy Coombs, Sotheby's Head of Museum and Corporate Art Group, added: "Building on the institutional legacy of the Breuer Building, In Residence highlights our commitment to presenting extraordinary collections to a public audience. We welcome the opportunity to draw upon our deep museum partnerships to showcase incredible objects from esteemed institutions in this iconic space. When we conceived of this concept, we naturally approached the Hispanic Society as our inaugural presenting partner, given their significant holdings of exquisite art and objects, and we are thrilled to launch with an exhibition of these three incredible Sorollas." Exhibition Details Title: In Residence: The Hispanic Society Sorollas. Location: Sotheby's New York, 945 Madison Avenue Dates: May 18 - June 1, 2026 Admission: Free and open to the public Founded in 1904 by the American scholar, philanthropist, and collector Archer M. Huntington, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library houses one of the world's premier collections of art from Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the Philippines. Located in a historic Beaux-Arts building on Audubon Terrace in the dynamic Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, the Hispanic Society is home to over half a million objects spanning thousands of years of art history across three continents. Unparalleled in scope and quality, the collection includes works by Baroque and early modern masters like El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Luisa Roldán, and Francisco de Goya; visionary 20th century artists like Joaquín Sorolla, and major figures from Latin America such as Sebastián López de Arteaga, Juan Rodríguez Juárez, Agustin Arrieta, and José Clemente Orozco, along with extensive collections of antiquities, Islamic art, Judaica, ceramics, textiles, and decorative arts. The Hispanic Society's library is one of the most important centers for research on Hispanic art and culture, containing an extraordinary array of rare books and manuscripts, including a 1526 map of the world and a first edition of Don Quixote. The library is open to the public by appointment. The Hispanic Society is committed to giving voice to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities and cultures in New York, throughout the United States, and across the world. As an active member of the Washington Heights community, the Hispanic Society regularly hosts concerts, lectures, and tours, and invites contemporary artists and community members to dialogue with the collection. Through its ambitious special exhibitions, a world-class permanent collection, innovative educational programming, dedicated support of living artists, and advanced research initiatives, the Hispanic Society continues to reimagine the potential for a museum and its ability to lead meaningful change.
The sale of the Jwaneng 28.88 diamond later this month marks the start of a collaboration between De Beers and Sotheby's. Together they aim to "present exceptional diamonds as works of art," although no details on the terms or scope of the agreement have been made public. The collaboration centers on joint marketing and storytelling, going beyond a standard consignment, in which the miner selects an auction house. Both companies co-create a branded narrative - "earth to art" - to promote across their channels The flawless D-color unmounted Jwaneng 28.88 - cut from a 114.83-carat rough recovered at Botswana's Jwaneng mine (Debswana, De Beers' 50-50 government venture) -leads the auction at Sotheby's Magnificent Jewels & Jadeite sale in Hong Kong on 23 April. It carries an estimate of HKD 17 million to HKD 22 million (USD 2.2 million to USD 2.8 million). Other De Beers diamonds from Jwaneng will be offered at the same sale, including a solitaire ring and a pair of diamond earrings.
True gem bought in London and now coming home to Mallorca. Centuries old Mallorca map bought by island council. The Council of Mallorca has completed the acquisition of Pere Rossell's portolan chart at Sotheby's London, in a transaction that adds this exceptional piece to the island's public heritage. The document, dated 1447, is considered one of the most valuable works of medieval Mallorcan cartography and represents a milestone in the recovery of the island's historical legacy. The map, signed by the Mallorcan cartographer Pere Rossell - known as Petrus Roselli - is the oldest of the author's known works and one of the most notable examples of the cartographic tradition developed in Mallorca between the 13th and 15th centuries. Drawn on vellum and written in Latin and Catalan, it depicts the Mediterranean world with great precision, including hundreds of place names written in Gothic script in black and red ink. During the signing ceremony, the president of the Council of Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, noted that the purchase "marks a milestone for the island and for the preservation of heritage," further emphasising that it allows for the recovery of "a key piece of our history that reinforces Mallorca's role as a leading figure in medieval cartography." Most viewed. For her part, the Vice President and Minister of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, described the work as "a true gem" that reflects the talent and international influence of medieval Mallorca. Stay connected with the majorca daily bulletin. Be part of its growing community! Follow Majorca Daily Bulletin on social media - Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube - to keep up with the latest updates and share your views. You can also subscribe to its WhatsApp and Telegram channels to receive daily highlights of the most important news. It's free and easy to stay informed directly from your mobile phone!