Artful merger – Kommersant FM

Kommersant FM columnist Dmitry Butkevich talks about the conditions under which two auction structures in the United States will merge.

In the United States, there is a fairly noticeable merger of two auction structures. Chicago auction house Hindman is merging with Philadelphia firm Freeman’s. This will make them the largest mid-tier auction house specializing in American art.

Hindman House was founded in 1982. In 1997, it became the property of Sotheby’s, but in 2003, Leslie Hindman regained its structure. In 2018, Hindman Auctions was formed through the merger of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and Cowan’s Auctions, which was founded in 1995 in Cincinnati.

Hindman celebrated its 40th anniversary in October 2022, and gained international recognition back in 1991 with the discovery of a previously unknown still life by Vincent Van Gogh. The painting sold for $1.5 million.

Freeman’s House is the oldest in the United States. Founded in 1805, it remained a Freeman family business until 2016, when ownership was transferred to the company’s key executive officers.

The two auction houses have six sales rooms and 18 offices, all located in the United States. Collectively, this dwarfs the American presence of major global auction houses such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips.

Operating under the Freeman’s/Hindman brand, the houses will consolidate their digital platforms into a single website and open a New York City location later this month. The newly formed company will continue to operate existing retail locations in Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Denver and Palm Beach.

The merger follows Hindman’s 2023 sales report of $99.7 million, and Freeman’s results for the same period estimated at $32 million. The two companies completed a total of 176 sales last year, with offerings spanning art XX century, and decorative art. The top lots included works by such American artists as N.K. Wyatt and Wayne Thibault, whose cost ranged from $800 thousand to $2 million.