拍賣巨頭佳士得CEO開始着眼網上拍賣

Steven Murphy's short reign as the chief executive of auction house Christie's has been marked by record sales that have kept it ahead of its main rival, Sotheby's.

馬文斐(Steven Murphy)擔任拍賣行佳士得(Christie’s)首席執行長的時間不長，但在此期間佳士得實現了創紀錄的銷售額，並一直領先於主要競爭對手蘇富比(Sotheby’s)。

But the 60-year-old thinks the company, the largest art auction house in the world, is lagging behind when it comes to contemporary technology.

但現年60歲的馬文斐覺得，作爲全球最大藝術品拍賣行的佳士得在現代科技方面落後於人。

'I felt the art auction world had not experienced the tidal wave that music, video and books experienced with the advent of online,' said Mr. Murphy, a former media executive whose resume includes stops at health publisher Rodale and Walt Disney Co.

曾任媒體行業高管的馬文斐說，他覺得拍賣行這個行業沒有經歷音樂、視頻和圖書在網絡時代來臨時所經歷過的那種浪潮。馬文斐的履歷包括曾任職於健康類出版商Rodale以及華特-迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Co.)。

Mr. Murphy has made the company's online strategy his main focus even as sales soared last year to $7.13 billion, a 14% rise over 2013 and a 36% improvement from 2010.

佳士得2013年銷售額飆升至71.3億美元，全年增長了14%，較2010年增長了36%，此時馬文斐將公司的網絡策略作爲關注重點。

That was the year Mr. Murphy joined London-based Christie's. The company is also rapidly growing in emerging markets: Hong Kong sales in 2013 rose 30%, and the auction house opened new outposts in Shanghai and Mumbai last year.

馬文斐正是在2013年加入總部位於倫敦的佳士得。該公司同時還在新興市場迅速發展：2013年香港銷售額增長30%，該公司去年還在上海和孟買開設了新拍賣行。

And Christie's sold more than $2 billion in postwar and contemporary art last year, which was the biggest driver of sales growth.

佳士得去年售出價值逾20億美元的戰後及當代藝術品，這是推動銷售額增長的最大類別。

Last year, it sold 'Three Studies of Lucian Freud' by Francis Bacon for US$142.4 million, a record price for a work of art sold at auction.

去年，該公司拍出弗朗西斯·培根(Francis Bacon)的《弗洛伊德肖像三習作》(Three Studies of Lucian Freud)，創下1.424億美元的藝術品拍賣價格紀錄。

Mr. Murphy spoke with The Wall Street Journal's Jason Chow and Wei Gu in Hong Kong about why he thinks the art industry's greatest opportunity lies online, the emerging markets in Asia and why he doesn't think there is a bubble in contemporary art.

馬文斐在香港接受《華爾街日報》記者Jason Chow和顧蔚採訪，討論他爲何認爲藝術品行業最大的機會在於互聯網和亞洲新興市場，以及他爲何不認爲當代藝術品存在泡沫。

Edited excerpts:

以下爲經過編輯的訪談內容：

WSJ: Who is Christie's typical customer today?

《華爾街日報》：佳士得現在的典型客戶是什麼樣的？

Mr. Murphy: There are three types. There's the deep art collector, a true aficionado, who spends a great deal of money on their collection. Contrary to common wisdom, our biggest clients buy across seven categories of art. Our next group of clients are an emerging group and are extremely active in the pursuit of art and objects as an experience. That group is growing exponentially around the world.

馬文斐：有三種類型。一種是真正抱有狂熱愛好的資深藝術收藏人士，他們在自己的藏品上花費不菲。與人們通常認爲的相反，我們最大的客戶購買的對象涉及七大藝術類別。我們的第二大客戶羣是一個新興的羣體，他們十分積極地追求藝術和目標，將其作爲一種體驗。這個羣體在世界各地都以極快的速度增加。

The third group is the enthusiasts. The auction world has only ever captured a part of the already-interested clients. We're discovering, in a big way in Asia and China, an entire new group.

第三大類是藝術愛好者。拍賣行業只吸引了一部分已經有興趣的客戶。我們在中國和亞洲發現了一個全新的羣體。

WSJ: Christie's reported that 30% of the buyers last year were new clients. Who are they?

《華爾街日報》：佳士得宣佈去年30%的買家都是新客戶。這些客戶是什麼人？

Mr. Murphy: The new buyers are from the second category. This is not a group that needs to be introduced to the joy of acquiring art. They're just new to Christie's.

馬文斐：這些新客戶來自第二個類別。無需向這個羣體介紹購買藝術品的樂趣。只是對於佳士得來說，他們是新客戶。

WSJ: You have opened auction rooms in India and China. Why expand when the art world is so global, and collectors are buying online or in New York or London?

《華爾街日報》：你們在印度和中國都開設了拍賣行。如今藝術世界的全球化程度已經很深，藏家們在網上或在紐約、倫敦等地購買藝術品，爲何在這個時候選擇擴張？

Mr. Murphy: Live auctions and exhibitions, the bricks-and-mortar, is growing as fast as online.

馬文斐：實時的現場拍賣和展覽發展速度與在網上一樣快。

Essentially, these bricks-and-mortar places are really about creating embassies for the international republic of Christie's. When someone steps over the threshold in Shanghai, they're in the Christie's world and they'll become buyers in our London and Paris sales.

實質上，這些實體場所其實是爲了創建佳士得這個國際機構的代表處。在上海，只要有人跨進佳士得的大門，他們就置身於佳士得的世界，最終會成爲我們在倫敦和巴黎的拍賣會的買家。

WSJ: The bulk of your business is still live auctions. Where do you see the opportunity online?

《華爾街日報》：你們的大部份業務仍爲現場拍賣，你認爲網絡拍賣的機遇在何處？

Mr. Murphy: The number of active parties is much greater than the audience we've been serving. They've been there at art fairs, art dealers. Now, we're finally accessing them.

馬文斐：活躍羣體的數量遠大於我們的現有客戶。這類羣體參加藝術展會並與藝術商進行接觸，如今我們終於有機會接觸到他們。

The potential for growth for Christie's is exponential because of the number of active buyers and interested buyers. And online provides us with the means of connection with them that is far more facile than bricks and mortars.

數量龐大的活躍買家和意向買家，使佳士得暗含巨大的增長潛力。而網絡向我們提供了與這些客戶建立關係的渠道，它遠比實體形式要便捷得多。

Last year, was our proof-of-concept year. We had 60 online-only auctions of various categories. It was a year we didn't task our team with doing huge numbers. This year begins the real surge.

去年是檢驗理念的一年，我們舉行了60場僅限線上的、涉及多種類別拍品的網絡拍賣會。這一年裏我們沒有給團隊設定宏大的業績目標。而今年將開始真正意義上的大幅增長。

WSJ: What items sell best online?

《華爾街日報》：哪些物品在網上拍得最好？

Mr. Murphy: It's early days. The price point that works best for us, so far, on online-only auctions is between GBP 5000 and GBP 1 million (US$8,414 to US$1.7 million). That's a big zone, but it's not above or below. And the categories that work are myriad. It's not only watches and wine. It's all art, a wide range.

馬文斐：現在作判斷爲時尚早。目前爲止對僅限線上的網絡拍賣而言，最佳的價格區間是五千英鎊到一百萬英鎊（約合8,414美元至170萬美元）。這是一個很寬的區間，但也僅限於此不再擴大。另外許多類別的銷售都非常好，不光手錶和紅酒，而是所有的藝術品。

The Andy Warhol Foundation came to us because they wanted to monetize their collection, including serious paintings, works on paper, photographs, Polaroids -- the entire range. Christie's was able to provide major paintings at live auction at evening sales, other works at day sales live, then other works in large collections of lesser-priced works online.

安迪沃霍爾基金會(Andy Warhol Foundation)與我們接洽，想要對全部類別的藏品進行拍賣，包括嚴肅畫作、紙上作品、照片以及寶麗來作品。佳士得可在晚間拍賣會的現場拍賣環節對主要畫作進行拍賣，在白天現場拍賣會拍賣其他作品，然後在網上對其它價格較低的大量藏品進行拍賣。

WSJ: Postwar and contemporary artworks have become a huge part of your sales. Is that market in a bubble, and are you worried about relying heavily on one category? Mr. Murphy: The success of the postwar contemporary market has encouraged collectors to consign their works.

《華爾街日報》：戰後及當代藝術品已成爲你們銷售的一大塊。這塊市場是否出現泡沫？你是否會擔心佳士得過度依靠單一類別？

The number of fantastic pieces coming to market has been extraordinary. The Bacon triptych we sold ('Three Studies of Lucian Freud') is an irrefutable masterpiece. And masterpieces invite more masterpieces, and that drives the market.

馬文斐：戰後及當代藝術市場的成功激勵着收藏者將手中藏品拿來拍賣。

It is not a bubble. The demand is increasing because the number of buyers is increasing. The number of works coming on the market has also gone up in artistic quality and are worthy of that demand.

進入市場的佳作數量超乎尋常。我們拍出的《弗洛伊德肖像畫習作》(Three Studies of Lucian Freud)是一件毋庸置疑的傑作。一批佳作吸引來又一批佳作，從而推動着市場走向繁榮。

WSJ: Private sales are an increasing part of the business, worth $1.2 billion last year, rising nearly 50% since 2011. Why is this channel so popular?

這並不是一個泡沫，需求因買家數量的增多而增多。進入市場的作品的藝術質量也在上升，配得上如此強勁的需求。

Mr. Murphy: We learned in 2010 that our top clients were spending half of their art purchases outside of auctions. They were already operating in the private-purchase space and were asking us to provide that service. So we added private sales teams, and now, our clients are buying with us both at auction and privately.

《華爾街日報》：私下洽購是一塊增長中的業務，該業務去年銷售達12億美元，自2011年累計增長近50%。這一銷售渠道爲何如此受歡迎？

WSJ: Why do you think buying art is so popular today?

馬文斐：我們在2010年時瞭解到，我們的頂級客戶的藝術品消費有一半是在拍賣活動以外進行的。當時他們已開展私下洽購併要求我們提供這一服務。因此我們增設了這方面團隊，而現在我們的客戶既通過拍賣，也通過私下洽購從我們手中購買藝術品。

Mr. Murphy: We're living in a moment where we're having a cultural shift, world-wide, towards an interest in art, museums, and the experience of being in front of pictures.

《華爾街日報》: 你認爲如今爲什麼如此流行購買藝術品？

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Museum in Beijing, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, are all experiencing record attendance. That is not unconnected to people coming to Christie's.

馬文斐：我們正在經歷一場全球文化的轉變，人們對藝術、博物館以及欣賞畫作的興趣正變得越來越濃厚。

You take this cultural move and marry it to the facility of imagery being available in HD quality, from your phone to your laptop.

紐約大都會藝術博物館(Metropolitan Museum of Art)、北京國家博物館(National Museum)、洛杉磯縣立藝術博物館(Los Angeles County Museum of Art)的參觀者人數紛紛刷新紀錄。這與來佳士得的人並非毫無關聯。

It's the equivalent to the explosion of music, globally, in the 1960s and 1970s. Suddenly, in the 1960s, you could hear the same song around the world thanks to radio.

可呈現高清畫質圖像的設備也對這場文化大潮帶來助推，比如手機、筆記本電腦等等。

Today, the world knows Frances Bacon and Andy Warhol. The world sees a Rafael drawing and it's in every newspaper, every website, and here on phones.

這就相當於上世紀六、七十年代的全球音樂大爆炸。上世紀六十年代，在收音機的幫助下，突然之間人們可以在世界的任何角落聽到同一首歌。

Jason Chow / Wei Gu

今天，全世界都知道培根(Frances Bacon)和沃霍爾(Andy Warhol)。全世界都可以看到拉斐爾(Rafael)的畫作，在報紙上、網站上，以及在你的手機上。