A First Look inside Sotheby’s New Premises in Paris
Sotheby’s recently opened its new Parisian headquarters in the beating heart of City’s art, fashion and luxury district on 12 October 2024. Sotheby’s move to 83 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, a building steeped in history and innovation, underlines its exacting standards, its visionary positioning, and highlights the auction house’s firm belief in the attractiveness of Paris.
Spread over 3,300m2 on five floors, the new Parisian flagship is an ever more efficient tool for the presentation of works of art, prestigious collections, and luxury objects of the highest order. It is also an open and welcoming space, where visitors can enjoy extraordinary exhibitions and acquire exceptional items, either at auction or by direct purchase. A new cultural destination for Paris, Sotheby’s will also be offering a rich menu of master classes, events, relaxation areas and elegant dining.
Sotheby’s – 83 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré – 75008 Paris.
The opening of this new location is aligned with the company’s global strategy. It follows the opening of Sotheby’s Hong Kong in July 2024 and precedes that of Sotheby’s New York in 2025 inside the Breuer Building, once home to the Whitney Museum of American Art. By choosing a landmark location
in the beating heart of every city, Sotheby’s reinforces its role as a global player in the worlds of art and luxury. Opening up to Paris and its vibrant cultural life, this new Sotheby’s site will become a cultural destination in its own right, offering a premium experience.
By moving from No. 76 to No. 83 on the Rue du Faubourg SaintHonoré, Sotheby’s gains nearly 30 percent more exhibition space. This enables it to offer a complete range of expertise across its specialist departments, from Ancient, Modern and Contemporary Art to the Arts of Asia, Africa and Oceania, and
from Design, Old Masters, Silverware, Books and Manuscripts to Luxury Goods, Jewelry, Watches, Handbags, Wine and more.
The new space lends itself perfectly to the display of prestigious ensembles and iconic collections, whose dispersals in recent years – under the aegis of Mario Tavella – have become a hallmark of Sotheby’s, representing some of the auction house’s most important successes in Paris.
Private sales are one of Sotheby’s strong points, offering a tailormade service to clients wishing to sell high-end works of art on a confidential basis. Sotheby’s new premises – complete with elegant spaces where clients can view works in privacy – will cater to sales of this kind. At the same time, Sotheby’s will also use the building to exhibit works that can be purchased directly, outside of the auction context.
Sotheby’s – 83 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré – 75008 Paris.
Sotheby’s relocation to the historic 83 Faubourg SaintHonoré, in the heart of Paris’s gallery and luxury sectors, and previously home to the renowned Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, underscores our commitment to France and highlights the growing importance of the French art and luxury markets to our company.
MARIO TAVELLA, PRESIDENT,
SOTHEBY’S FRANCE AND CHAIRMAN, SOTHEBY’S EUROPE
Our new home in Paris is about more than bricks and mortar; it’s about transforming the way we engage with collectors. This beautiful destination
will elevate the experience for our clients and invite new audiences into the world of art, luxury, and extraordinary objects. While our online
business has flourished, we will continue to create a real sense of magic for those who step through the door at Sotheby’s – which is what you will find at 83 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.MARIE-ANNE GINOUX, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SOTHEBY’S PARIS
Located on the corner of Avenue Matignon, the buildings that once housed the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in 1925 have now been transformed into a 21st-century urban cultural site dedicated to art and luxury with Sotheby’s pioneering character and dynamism resonating with the avant-gardism
of Bernheim-Jeune. The faithful restoration of existing buildings, the conservation of pre-existing Art Deco elements (wrought- iron and curved glass external doors, railings, brass handrails, mirrors, mosaics, wood cladding and parquet flooring), and the three pendant lights especially conceived by the artist- designer Hubert Le Gall, of rare elegance with subtle lighting effects, lend these spaces a patrimonial yet also innovative dimension. As sculptures, suspended in the atrium, they are unique objects that resonate with their surroundings without being overly present. These pendant lights, in varnished steel, are genuine sculptures suspended in the atrium, as flying kites. These unique and aerial objects, measuring 110 x 110 cm, structure the space. Their modern geometric features, sobeand refined without aiming to be luxurious, fade in the presence of the masterpieces on display while their simplicity and the originality of their design give the architecture a patrimonial and innovative dimension.
Sotheby’s – 83 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré – 75008 Paris.
Mario Tavella Président, France | Chairman, Europe
The architectural works have brought together a variety of artistic professions – from journeymen stonemasons to metalworkers, light designers and landscape architects – under the leadership of Architecturestudio, accustomed to this type of demanding renovation; and of Degaine, which took part in
the restoration of the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris.
With its welcoming transparent windows on Avenue Matignon and the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the new Sotheby’s headquarters is open to the outside world. The windows giving onto the street will display works of art, objects and luxury goods. The architectural illumination of the building’s facades
will enhance the presence and visibility of Sotheby’s in its environment in the heart of Paris.
On the ground floor, the auction room and exhibition galleries are connected to the public space via the street windows. They invite amateurs to enter the building and take part in the auction experience. Access to the exhibition of works for auction are free and open to all.
These spaces benefit from natural lighting provided by the atrium’s faceted glass roof, which extends over three levels.
The exceptionally high ceilings allow for the spaces to be a perfect tool for spectacular and exceptional displays, linked to specialised sales (of cars, for example, or very large-scale works).
This auction room, which seats 200 (240 m 2 ), designed in collaboration with Architecturestudio and the team gathered around Mario Tavella, is characterized by its 1925 “Parisian chic” ambiance – accentuated by the choice of materials sourced from local distribution channels, such as Burgundy stone, eucalyptus wood and solid brass. The atrium’s suspended galleries, which open directly onto the auction hall in the style of “loges” [opera boxes], allow direct views from the various floors, making it unique, exceptional and immersive. Sales are also visible from the café, 83 Café, which offers signature pastries (including ‘83 Saint-Honoré’ and ‘choux à la crème’).
The exhibition rooms, spread across the ground floor and on three levels, cover a total surface area of 1,275 square meters.
All feature natural lighting, with artificial light added to evenly illuminate the works. The quality of these spaces and their equipment make them adaptable and transformable.
On the upper floors is the Salon – a “luxury showroom” offering unique and exceptional objects for sale at fixed prices – another major Sotheby’s innovation in this luxury district. Warm, intimate spaces are also dedicated to private sales, which have been expanding rapidly for several years.
Sotheby’s – 83 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré – 75008 Paris.
Clients can spend time in the wine cellar, with its tasting area, as well as in the 83 Café, the restaurant on the first floor, which is led by Gaëtan Thibert, a young chef whose team can be seen working. Trained at the Ferrandi school and then by our former chef Michel Leblanc, Gaëtan Thibert has worked at the
Ritz (L’Espadon), Georges V (L’Orangerie) and Cheval Blanc (Le Tout-Paris). The restaurant will be open during sales and exhibitions, including weekends. The menu is small, but with a strong identity: light, traditional French dishes with Gaëtan Thibert’s signature touch.
They are made exclusively from selected fresh produce. The menu – as with the pastries in the café – can be adapted to suit the theme of the sales and exhibitions. Tastings of rare wines will be held regularly.
Accessible, welcoming and adaptable spaces will enable the organization of concerts, parties, conferences, cocktail parties, fashion shows and dinners. State-of-the-art scenographic and technical equipment will enable Sotheby’s to showcase a wide range of works and objects.
In addition, the open-space offices of the Sotheby’s teams, who will be brought together, will optimize exchanges during auctions, exhibitions or scheduled events. The grouping of all staff under the same roof and in the same “house” will allow a smooth, speedy, and well-run operation, benefitting the clients.
Considerable attention has been focused on storage areas to ensure works of art are preserved in the best possible condition and are as accessible as possible.
The sales and exhibition areas, private lounges and the 83 Café are all accessible to people with reduced mobility.
On the opening days, the different areas, the café and the restaurant 83 Café, will open in stages to coincide with the various events scheduled
ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE OF 83 RUE DU FAUBOURG SAINT-HONORÉ:
Key figures:
Total Exhibition space: 1,275 m 2
• Auction hall: 240 m 2 (ground floor)
• Café: 75m2 seating 30 people
• More than 200m of linear exhibition space
• Loggia surface area: 3x10m 2
• Showroom: 145 m2
A connected sales process
• 25 km of cable to guarantee digital prowess Bio-sourced materials and a short supply chain
• 26 m3 of cut stone (150 blocks of St Maximin stone) for the new loggia façades
• 950 m 2 of decorative wood cladding (eucalyptus)
• 600 m2 of solid oak parquet flooring
• 900 m2 of Buffon stone paving (Burgundy
A commitment to openness and transparency
• A 14-metre, 13-tonne beam to remove all the columns on the ground floor and support the courtyard façade
• A new 65 m 2 glass roof (600×1050 height 1270cm) with a 5m2 central glazing (800kg) measuring 245 x 320cm
• 123 exterior joinery systems in steel and wood- aluminum
Low-energy lighting as close as possible to the works of art
• 1700 automated lights and 1 km of LED ribbon to illuminate the artworks
ABOUT SOTHEBY’S
The world’s premier destination for art and luxury, Sotheby’s has been at the forefront of setting and influencing new trends while respecting its centuries-old identity. An auction house founded in 1744 in London, Sotheby’s Paris has 15 specialist departments. It is now present in 40 countries, with sales in London, New York, Geneva, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Dubai, Milan, Cologne and Paris.
