Cover Elaine Holt (Photo: courtesy of Elaine Holt and Sotheby’s Asia)
Elaine Holt (Photo: courtesy of Elaine Holt and Sotheby’s Asia)
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Sotheby’s Asia’s new chairman of modern and contemporary art talks about Asian buyers’ growing appetite for Monet and Picasso, and how the auction house is building an inclusive space for women artists
Elaine Holt was appointed as Sotheby’s Asia’s chairman of modern and contemporary art and Sotheby’s Asia’s deputy chairman recently. She took over from Alex Branczik from London and Max Moore from New York who co-directed the auction house’s Asian branch.
Since taking up the mantle, the Hong Kong dealer-turned-auction specialist and advisor has been spearheading several significant projects: such as overseeing the opening of Sotheby’s new headquarters in the Landmark Chater Building; hosting the sale of famed American abstract artist Mark Rothko’s first major auction in Asia; and introducing new, Asian-oriented approaches to art presentations at the auction house.
With the successful conclusion of the Rothko sales, Holt sat down with Tatler to talk about her role as an Asian leader in the global art market, what new directions she’s driving her team towards and her thoughts on art education.
In case you missed it: Sotheby’s opens its new maison at Landmark Chater, Central this weekend
Above Elaine Holt (Photo: courtesy of Elaine Holt and Sotheby’s Asia)
Elaine Holt (Photo: courtesy of Elaine Holt and Sotheby’s Asia)
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Why were you interested in taking up this position?
I have been in the art industry for 20 years. When Nathan Drahi [Sotheby’s managing director, Asia] approached me, I found that this was a very exciting role: I really like the idea of having the retail space concept. This is something that I haven’t tried before, and I know that I can use my previous experience in the galleries and the auction house to do something different.
Where were you before? And how did those years gear you up for your role today?
After my first job which mainly involved [bidding for] clients in a gallery, I moved on to my second job as a curator. That was the time when Chinese contemporary art was booming. My role was to look for up-and-coming artists in mainland China. After that, I joined the Taiwanese auction house Ravenel and helped them set up an office in Hong Kong. There, I learnt how to run an auction house and businesses.
And then [from 2013 to 2023], I was with our major competitor, Christie’s. I worked in the Impressionism and Modern Art departments which have a lot of Western art. They sell art at the highest value. That was how I learnt something other than Chinese or Asian contemporary and modern art.
Above “Untitled (Yellow and Blue)” by Mark Rothko, which was part of the evening auctions on November 11, 2024 (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
“Untitled (Yellow and Blue)” by Mark Rothko, which was part of the evening auctions on November 11, 2024 (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
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What new ideas are you bringing to Sotheby’s Asia art departments?
In the past, all auction houses were divided between the contemporary and modern [categories]. But in my experience, most of our clients, especially Asians, buy across categories. So in the past four months, I tried engaging both contemporary and modern art departments to work together and do presentations together, so that they aren’t limited to their own fields of expertise. I found that my team is enjoying this process.
As a leader, do you see the art industry as an inclusive space for women?
Yes, there are a lot of opportunities for women. Twenty per cent of the artists [that Sotheby’s is presenting this season] are female. I work with many male colleagues. We work very well together, and they respect me. I don’t feel any challenges working with my team.
What are the latest trends in the art market that affect how Sotheby’s Asia does business?
Asian buyers have been buying for a long time. In the old days, they used to buy more Asian works, like Chinese paintings or contemporary Asian pieces such as by [Yayoi] Kusama. Now, they’ve started to expand to other categories and are also looking into Western, blue-chip art. Picasso is a popular name. Asian buyers are very important in the global art scene. In the past ten years, Asian buyers have taken up about 30 per cent of international transactions.
So our global regions have been focusing on bringing more [Western] works to Asia, in particular Hong Kong, which is an important global site in Asia for us. For example, earlier this month, we brought The Collection of Sydell Miller from New York to Hong Kong. And we also had a Monet painting of water lilies, with an estimated price of around US$60 million.
Above “La Statuaire” by Picasso, which was part of “The Collection of Sydell Miller” (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
Above “Nymphéas” by Monet, which was part of “The Collection of Sydell Miller” (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
“La Statuaire” by Picasso, which was part of “The Collection of Sydell Miller” (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
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What are your thoughts on Asian artists in the global art market?
Asian artists have been on the global scene for quite some time. A lot of Asian artists have been educated in the West, such as Chinese painters Zao Wou-Ki, Wu Guanzhong and Lin Fengmian in France and Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama in the US. On the other hand, European painters like Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet admired Japanese art. While we make people aware of Chinese or Asian artists in the global art scene, we’re trying to make connections between artists from the East and the West and educate people in both ways.
How has the business model of the auction house evolved?
Other than masterpieces, there are some very affordable paintings for different types of people. Art has become part of our lives. Today, art is no longer only for the rich; it’s for everyone. I hope that people, especially in Hong Kong, will start to collect art and make it part of their lives.
Above “Hat” by Yayoi Kusama, which was part of the evening auctions on November 11, 2024 (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
“Hat” by Yayoi Kusama, which was part of the evening auctions on November 11, 2024 (Image: courtesy of Sotheby’s Asia)
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How has Sotheby’s Asia been fostering art education or public access to art?
We are doing much better than even a museum. The location [of Landmark Chater] is accessible, and everyone can go inside to enjoy art without paying an admission fee. On weekends, I see families going into the maison to enjoy art. Last week, I checked out the space myself and my clients told me that it’s better than going to a museum because there’s such a variety of work from the contemporary and modern periods to masterpieces, and our spaces on the [brightly lit] first floor and [atmospheric] the Grotto downstairs offer very different viewing experiences.
What’s next from Sotheby’s Asia under your leadership?
With this big space that we now have all to ourselves throughout the year, we have a lot more flexibility than in the old days, when we had to wait for availability in the [Hong Kong] Convention Centre [where our auctions used to be held]. We are planning several things: other than auctions, we are thinking of exhibitions; some are private sales exhibitions, and others are for education purposes.
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
