The website for Christie’s was taken offline by the auction house on Thursday evening after a “technology security issue” was discovered to be impacting some of its systems.
As of Friday afternoon, the website was still offline. A single webpage was available with the company’s name and a message reading, “We apologise that our website is currently offline. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible and regret any inconvenience.”
In a statement emailed to ARTnews, a spokesperson for the auction house said, “Christie’s confirms that a technology security issue has impacted some of our systems, including our website. We are taking all necessary steps to manage this matter, with the engagement of a team of additional technology experts. We regret any inconvenience to our clients and our priority is to minimize any further disruption. We will provide further updates to our clients as appropriate.”
The news was first reported by the New York Times on Friday at midday, calling the incident a “cyberattack” by hackers, though it was not clear on what that characterization was based.
The incident comes just days ahead of the May sales week in New York, a crucial period for the auctions houses and an important bellwether for the art market. On Tuesday, Christie’s will hold the Rosa de la Cruz Collection evening sale and its 20th/21st Century evening sale, which figure to be its sales of the season. One of the top lots for the latter sale is the Brice Marden diptych Event (est. $30 million–$50 million), apparently being consigned by Richard Schlagman, the enigmatic former owner of Phaidon Press.
