Christie's Buys Art Gallery

Bloomberg reports that Christie's International - the world's largest art auction house - bought London's Haunch of Venison art gallery and plans to announce the transaction in a day or two.Haunch of Venison, founded by Harry Blain and Graham Southern in 2002, competes with contemporary art galleries Gagosian, White Cube and Hauser & Wirth. Christie's gains store windows in London and Zurich through the purchase and wins access to wealthy buyers at art fairs where Haunch of Venison rents a booth. Toby Usnik, Christie's spokesman, said the auction house doesn't comment on market speculation. Blain was traveling and couldn't be reached. The purchase by Christie's, which is owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, was reported earlier by Artinfo.com. Christie's competitor Sotheby's last June agreed to buy Noortman Master Paintings for $56.5 million in Sotheby's shares. Chief Executive Officer William Ruprecht said at the time he hoped to share in the art dealer's profit. Such purchases are coming at a time when an art-market boom has increased the value of art sellers. The most expensive contemporary art works have quadrupled in 10 years, according to index-maker Art Market Research. (For full source and article click the Headline) Irish Art