A Good Year for Some

Last year was another tough one for members of the working class. Welfare cuts, wage freezes and homes re-possessed was the order of the day. For members of the owning class though it wasn't all doom and gloom. Christie's, the world's largest auction house announced that it had made £4.54 billion from auctions and private deals around the world last year, up by 16 per cent on 2012. 'The auctioneer sold 58 works for more than £10 million each and more than 731 works for more than £1 million apiece last year. Chinese buyers fuelled the boom, spending nearly two thirds more on art than they did in 2012, as sales of Asian art rocketed by 44 per cent to £600 million.' (Times, 23 January) RD