Jussi Pylkkänen says goodbye to Christie's: chairman leaves after 38 years

A piece of history at Christie’s, the world’s largest auction house, founded in 1766 by James Christie, is leaving: after 38 years of service, in fact, Christie’s global chairman, Finland’s Jussi Pylkkänen, has decided to resign to work as an independent art consultant. Pylkkänen’s decision was made public by Guillaume Cerutti, chief executive officer of the London-based house. On November 9, Pylkkänen will hold his last auction in New York, for a sale devoted to 20th-century arts, and then will make his final appearance as auctioneer in London for the Old Masters evening sale on December 7.

Born in Helsinki in 1963, studies at King’s College London, a degree in art from Oxford University, Pylkkänen is a well-known specialist in 20th-century art, with more than 30 years of experience in the field. His career at Christie’s began in 1985, and Pylkkänen can be said to have devoted virtually his entire career to the auction house. At Christie’s, he was director of the modern and impressionist art department from 1995 to 2005, until being appointed global president of Christie’s in 2014, after serving for ten years as president of Christie’s Europe, Middle East, and Russia.

In the art world, moreover, Pylkkänen is a familiar face as he has long been, and still is, one of the best-known auctioneers at Christie’s and beyond. In his 20-year podium career, he has handled major sales in every category and for many major charities including UNICEF, Red Cross, Terrence Higgins Trust, and The Art of Wishes. It was he, in 2017, who beat the hammer during the celebrated sale of the Salvator mundi attributed to Leonardo da Vinci in 2017, after a 19-minute battle, for a record $450.3 million (the most expensive painting expensive ever sold in an auction), and in 2022 it was repeated during the sale of Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, which at $195 million was the most expensive work of the 20th century auctioned. Pylkkänen was then auctioneer during the sales of the celebrated Elizabeth Taylor (2011), Peggy and David Rockefeller (2018) and Paul G. Allen (2022) collections, the latter the most expensive single-owner collection ever sold at auction, to the tune of $1.6 billion.

“Jussi,” Cerutti commented, “is a much-loved member of the Christie’s family. We are very grateful for his outstanding contribution to Christie’s as a respected art specialist, salesman extraordinaire, and one of our best auctioneers. We wish him the best as he begins the next phase of his career as an independent client advisor.”

“Christie’s is an inspiring place to work and has given me great happiness over four decades of working with the best specialists in the market, in the very heart of the art world,” Pylkkänen said. “I have been privileged to have the opportunity to befriend collectors from all over the world and to auction superb quality artworks in every category in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong. The art market continues to evolve, and the extraordinary influx of buyers at the top of the market now gives me the unique opportunity to share my experience with a new generation of collectors eager to purchase important works of art both privately and at auction.”

Jussi Pylkkänen says goodbye to Christie's: chairman leaves after 38 years

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