Ernst Ludwig Kirchner s Our House, sold for €1.7m Courtesy of Ketterer Kunst
As his train went through a tunnel, one bidder briefly lost his signal while taking part in a live auction online at Munich-based Ketterer Kunst earlier this year. Luckily, the train emerged in time for him to rejoin the bidding.
It is the kind of challenge that auctioneers and their customers have had to adapt to during the pandemic year, with most buyers outside the auction room and an increasing number of sales taking place online. Despite the technological challenges, Europe’s leading auction houses say they have weathered the crisis well as customers adapted quickly, in some cases making online purchases in the millions for art they had only viewed virtually.