CEO of Christie’s Sets Sail as Business is Barely Above Water

Yes, the art world had a booming fall. Yes, there is chatter that the art world is coming back, that the recession is over for art dealers, artists, and art collectors alike. Those who are attending or have booths at Art Basel Miami Beach are optimistic. So things are looking up. But they aren’t quite back to normal yet, and there is that sense of inappropriateness or incredulity in the art world recovering in such an august fashion, as huge amounts of money are thrown at pretty objects, while the rest of the world is still clearly suffering under the economy.

For these reasons, it is shocking that Edward Dolman, the CEO of Christie’s–which did pretty well with its fall auctions (but not as well as Sotheby’s)–has sent out a memo to his staff saying he is going to be sailing across the Atlantic on his yacht for the next two-and-a-half weeks. This comes on the heels of a very bad year for Christie’s. As reported in the Daily Mail, the company has seen “around 150 jobs go in Britain, many more worldwide and two international offices close down.”

Not only did Dolman notify his employees of his luxurious seafaring adventure, he took it one step further and is allowing them to follow their fearless boss on his yacht by logging on to a website, which will detail all the excitement they are not having at that moment. Nothing like watching your boss sail his yacht on the open seas while you are trapped at your desk and lamenting the employees who no longer work with you due to cutbacks. As one employee put it:

“A frisson of shock went round all the offices within minutes of this email being sent. Everyone was horrified. It was so tactless. It caused uproar from everyone from senior directors down to the people in the post room. He says he is away for two-and-a-half weeks. Everyone is entitled to a holiday, but it is during our very busy sales season, and it is incredibly out of tune with the staff morale to suggest we would want to follow his progress swanning across the ocean when people have seen so many close colleagues and friends being fired.”

If anyone has access to this website that follows Edward Dolman across the Atlantic, send it along. I think we’d all like to see the fun times that he is having and his employees are not.

via Going, Going, Gone….Christie’s Boss Takes a ‘Tactless’ Jaunt.