Art auction firm.
Founded in London by the bookseller Samuel Baker in 1744, it was later managed after his death by his nephew, John Sotheby, and by his successors until 1861. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sotheby's concentrated on books, manuscripts, and prints. After World War I it specialized in 19th-and 20th-century works, particularly Impressionist paintings. It opened an office in New York City in 1955, and in 1964 it acquired Parke-Bernet, the premier U.S. art auction house. A. Alfred Taubman purchased a controlling share of the company in 1983 and renamed it Sotheby's Holdings, Inc. In 2002 Taubman was convicted of price-fixing with rival auction house Christie's, sentenced to a one-year jail term, and fined $7.5 million.