Sotheby's is hiring a
Associate Cataloguer

Summary

The job is for an Associate Cataloguer at Sotheby's, responsible for assisting with the production of the Modern Discoveries Online Auction. The role involves research, cataloguing, photography, writing catalogue notes, and liaising with various departments and external vendors.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree required, ideally in relevant area of study/interest
• A minimum of 1-2 years of work experience
• A background in Art History, with experience researching and writing on works of art. A demonstrated interest in Impressionist and Modern Art is preferred and encouraged
• Highly organized, detail-oriented
• Ability to prioritize multiple highly important processes and responsibilities in a high-pressured environment and meet constant deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish close working relationships with a variety of people across the department and company
• Ability to work collaboratively on large projects while being confident and comfortable taking initiative and working on one’s own
• Excellent client service
• Excellent team player
• Proficient computer skills and ideally a strong knowledge of Sotheby’s systems, including CAT, the Client System, the Employee Portal, Webnative, Excel, Word, photo editing and storage
• Excellent verbal and writing skills
• Requires flexibility in work hours and availability to work late nights and full weekends during catalogue deadline and pre-sale exhibition

Responsibilities

• Conducting research for each work in our sale and keeping diligent records of provenance, exhibition history and literature references
• Assisting with physical cataloguing and arranging photography of works
• Researching and writing catalogue notes for a large variety of works of different genres, periods, media, and price points
• Work within our digital catalogue design platform, to produce and design lot pages for our online sales catalogues
• Liaising with external vendors such as conservators and framers, and external authenticating bodies to prepare works for sale
• Liaising with other departments which contribute to the Modern Discoveries sale, such as Contemporary Art, Latin American art, Prints, and Photo
• Liaising with internal support staff including administrators, registrars, art handlers, catalogue production, press, and marketing in assisting with the planning and execution of all logistical aspects of the Discoveries sale
• Learning to evaluate works of art by assisting with research prior to estimate sessions
• During the exhibition and sale weeks, an associate cataloguer is expected to be an available resource for both New York-based and international colleagues, as well as a knowledgeable source of information on all aspects of the works in our sale
• Assisting with proposals, both formal and in-house, in the months between sale seasons
• Assisting with ad-hoc artist research projects and proactive sourcing initiatives
• Support the larger department by answering the phones and handling mainline requests
• Providing a comprehensive level of service to Sotheby’s clients. This includes responding to day-to-day client queries and maintaining client contact

Benefits

• The proposed base salary for this position ranges from $50,000-$55,000 plus overtime
• In addition to base salary successful candidates are eligible to receive a discretionary bonus
• As well as a competitive benefits package