在这个几乎是所有人都勒紧腰带的时刻,佳士得和苏富比两家拍卖行也已经开始节衣缩食了。在2008年末的时候,他们都采取了降低成本的策略,这些策略一直延续到了今年。截止到09年春季,两家拍卖行大约在世界各地的分支机构都裁员近20%。这就意味着要合并某些部门,比如在佳士得,大师与十九世纪欧洲艺术就合并在了一起,由此也就减掉了一些高级的职位,同时减少日程中拍卖场次就 At a time when almost everyone is tightening their belts, the two auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, have also begun to cut corners. At the end of 2008, they all took a cost-cutting strategy that lasted until this year. As of the spring of 2009, both auction houses cut nearly 20% of their staff in approximately the world’s affiliates. This means merging certain departments, such as the merger of masters and 19th-century European art at Christie’s, thereby removing some senior positions and reducing the number of auctions on the agenda