The name on the sign has a longer history than the real estate network that carries it. Christie’s is a British auction house, established in London in 1766, and among the oldest continuously operating businesses in the art market.
Christie’s was founded by James Christie, who conducted his first sale in London in December 1766. Its main premises remain on King Street, St James’s.
The house holds salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shanghai and Dubai, and sells across art, jewellery, watches, wine and collectibles. It is owned by Groupe Artémis, the holding company of François Pinault.
Its best-known single sale is the Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo, which sold in New York in November 2017 for US$450 million — the highest price ever paid at auction for a painting.
This is the part most people get wrong, so it is worth stating plainly. The two are separate businesses that share a name under licence.
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Christie’s International Real Estate was founded in 1987 as Great Estates, acquired by the auction house in 1995, and renamed in 2011. In December 2021 it was acquired by a venture led by the co-founders of @properties under a long-term brand licence, and it now sits within Compass. The auction house licenses the name; it does not broker the property.
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Christie’s and Christie’s International Real Estate are separate companies. Nick Ntoukas is a Sales Representative with Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Brokerage, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate. Nothing on this page should be read as a service offered by the auction house.