Alex Rotter is Global President of Christie’s, where he is responsible for developing and driving business across all categories, developing innovative strategies for auction and private sales across individual objects and collection. In addition, he oversees a global team of specialists spanning the full scope of 20th and 21st Century Art, including Post-War and Contemporary Art, Impressionist & Modern Art, Design, Photographs, Prints, American Art, Latin American Art, and Modern British Pictures. Rotter is recognized as a leading authority in Contemporary art and has become known for his innovative strategies for driving business and his astute understanding of the rapidly evolving international art market.
Rotter’s progressive approach to presenting extraordinary works of art to the market has yielded many of the most groundbreaking moments in auction history. His Christie’s career highlights include the 2017 sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450 million, becoming the most expensive object ever sold at auction, Jeff Koons’ Rabbit from the Collection of S.I. Newhouse, which sold for $91.1 million and set a world auction record for a living artist, and Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, which sold for $195 million and became the most expensive 20th century work sold at auction. He also established the new main sale category 20th and 21st Century Art at Christie’s, a re-imagined sale strategy that positions art within the period that it was created, as opposed to the movement that defined it.
In 2020, Rotter’s keen market intelligence and creativity were integral to the implementation of the first-of-its-kind global relay auction, live-streamed from Christie’s salerooms in Hong Kong, Paris, London, and New York. Rotter also pioneered the concept of private auction, which fundamentally changed the landscape of private sales. In addition, Rotter is a leading contributor to Private Sale at Christie’s, facilitating the sale of several works in excess of $100 million.
Prior to joining Christie’s, Rotter was Worldwide Co-Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s (2008-2016), where he oversaw the rise in the firm’s global contemporary art sales.
Growing up in a family of art dealers in his native Austria, Rotter studied at the University of Vienna. He currently lives in New York with his wife and two sons.
Rotter’s progressive approach to presenting extraordinary works of art to the market has yielded many of the most groundbreaking moments in auction history. His Christie’s career highlights include the 2017 sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450 million, becoming the most expensive object ever sold at auction, Jeff Koons’ Rabbit from the Collection of S.I. Newhouse, which sold for $91.1 million and set a world auction record for a living artist, and Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, which sold for $195 million and became the most expensive 20th century work sold at auction. He also established the new main sale category 20th and 21st Century Art at Christie’s, a re-imagined sale strategy that positions art within the period that it was created, as opposed to the movement that defined it.
In 2020, Rotter’s keen market intelligence and creativity were integral to the implementation of the first-of-its-kind global relay auction, live-streamed from Christie’s salerooms in Hong Kong, Paris, London, and New York. Rotter also pioneered the concept of private auction, which fundamentally changed the landscape of private sales. In addition, Rotter is a leading contributor to Private Sale at Christie’s, facilitating the sale of several works in excess of $100 million.
Prior to joining Christie’s, Rotter was Worldwide Co-Head of Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s (2008-2016), where he oversaw the rise in the firm’s global contemporary art sales.
Growing up in a family of art dealers in his native Austria, Rotter studied at the University of Vienna. He currently lives in New York with his wife and two sons.
