In 2001, Nicolas Orlowski acquired the Artcurial Gallery from L'Oréal.[1] He hired auctioneers Francis Briest, Hervé Poulain and Rémy Le Fur, and established an auction house by the same name.[1]
It is a subsidiary of the Dassault Group.[2] Additionally, Monegasque billionaire Michel Pastor was a shareholder until his death in 2014.[3]
As of 2014, it was the third largest auction house in Paris after Christie's and Sotheby's.[1]
In 2022, Artcurial celebrated its 20th anniversary.[4]
April 2023 Artcurial acquired Beurret Bailly Widmer Auktioner, an Auction house in Switzerland.[4][5] Beurret Bailly was founded in 2011 by Nicolas Beurret and Emmanuel Bailly that specialized in the sale of modern and contemporary art.[4][6]
Notable Auctions
In March of 2023, there was news of a botched $1 million auction after the buyer, Patrick Matthiesen, asked about the origins of the painting they purchased.[7] The piece in question,Narcissus by Laurent de La Hyre (circa 1640), was originally purchased in an anonymous sale in London in 1929.[7]
In August on 2023, a natural burmese stone, noted as the second-most expensive ruby to be sold in auction at $3.3 million.[8] The stone is set in an 18-karat yellow gold setting, surrounded by 10 0.4-0.5 carats each.[8][9]
