Carly Murphy, Christie’s head of client strategy for the Americas, is leaving the auction house to join Art Basel as global head of collector and institutional relations. Murphy will begin the newly created position later this month, reporting to Vincenzo de Bellis, the fair’s chief artistic officer and global director of fairs.
Art Basel said the appointment is meant to strengthen ties with core collectors, museums, and cultural institutions as the art market faces slowing sales, particularly at fairs. “Deepening relationships with private collectors and cultural institutions, shaping the conditions for galleries to grow, and cultivating the audiences of tomorrow are all critical to our role and to the wider ecosystem we support,” Art Basel chief executive Noah Horowitz said in a statement.
Murphy previously held client-facing roles at Sotheby’s and Phillips. She called the move “a once in a lifetime opportunity” to apply her auction-world experience at the fair organizer.
The hire comes amid broader shifts between auction houses, galleries, and fairs. Christie’s former chief executive Guillaume Cerutti stepped down in January to join the Pinault family, while Sotheby’s Brooke Lampley moved to Gagosian and Christie’s Jussi Pylkkänen left to advise privately. Horowitz himself briefly decamped to Sotheby’s before returning to Art Basel as CEO in 2022.
Art Basel and UBS’s latest Art Market Report, published in April, showed global sales of art and antiques fell 12% in 2024 to $57.5 billion, the second consecutive year of decline. Sales at fairs rose slightly but remain below pre-pandemic levels. In response, Art Basel Paris will add an extra invitation-only preview day next month, giving exhibitors more access to top collectors.
