Centuries-old auction house Sotheby's has partnered with streetwear brand Highsnobiety to bring the paintings of Dutch, Flemish, and Italian "Old Masters" to T-shirts, hats, and hoodies.
The partnership seeks to promote Sotheby's upcoming Old Masters auction on January 29-30 in New York City and spread awareness of classic fine art to a younger demographic of potential buyers who might not see themselves as the art collectors of the future, Senior Vice President David Pollack told Cheddar.
For background, the term Old Master in the art world refers to any work created by a trained European painter before 1800. So, if the idea of pasting a 16th-century masterwork like Ginevra Cantofoli's A Sea-Nymph onto a black T-shirt strikes you as odd, that's exactly the point.
"I think it's taken some people by surprise, which is the idea," Pollack said.
More partnerships of this kind could be in Sotheby's future as it looks for new opportunities to reach out to younger buyers and make art auctions seem more accessible.
At last year's Old Masters sale, Pollack said, 40 percent of the paintings sold for under $10,000, and a quarter of buyers were under 35 years old.
He pointed to Sotheby's new approach to marketing as partly to blame for the success.
The auction house recently worked with Victoria Beckham, for instance, to present work by groundbreaking women masters at her Dover Street boutique in London. It also worked with Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti and art dealer Fabrizio Moretti (yes, those are two different people) to present 20 Old Master paintings and sculptures in New York City and London.
"I think we were able to convert a lot of people who might be interested in Old Masters paintings into actual buyers," Pollack said.
The value of this kind of marketing is particularly useful when it comes to the auction business, which is not quite as impulsive as it looks from the outside. Pollack said that a lot of engagement with buyers happens over the phone before the auction even takes place
With the digitization of Sotheby's collection, he added, cross-branding opportunities like the one with Highsnobiety have gotten easier. In addition, there are few legal barriers in the way of appropriating these images for other products.
"What's really convenient about Old Masters paintings and using the rights and images is that our painters are exclusively no longer alive," Pollack said.
He added that sellers have been all too happy to give their permission to reprint the paintings.
The limited-run collection, which features $125 hoodies, $65 T-shirts, and $45 hats, is nearly sold out, though a few items remain in the lead-up to this week's auction.
Sotheby's Auction House is owned by Patrick Drahi who also serves as chairman of the board of Altice USA, parent company of Cheddar.
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