The art market as professional wrestling arena

How much of this goes on at high-end book auctions, the article does not say.

“The buzz in the sale room is a high point,” said Patti Wong, chairwoman of Sotheby’s Asia, “but a lot goes on before the auction that leads to the evening.”

In recent years, however, a troubling element of this meticulous planning has emerged. Frequently, it involves rounding up specific artworks to meet collectors’ particular demands. To attract sellers, the auction houses promise them a guaranteed, undisclosed minimum price; then, to hedge their risk, they line up clients who agree to buy those works at guaranteed, undisclosed floor prices, a practice known as a third-party guarantee. Thus the evening’s results are increasingly predetermined.

“Auctions,” said Todd Levin, a veteran art adviser, “are purely staged events, choreographed in advance.”