Chapter 630: In the wind
Suddenly, it was already past ten in the morning.
"Bang..."
There was a crisp knock on the door.
Ye Tian put down a document in his hand and said loudly to the door:
"Come in!"
The next moment, Jason opened the door and walked in.
"Steven, the Sotheby's guys are here, I brought them all to the meeting room, do you want to go now, or let them wait?"
"Sure enough! These guys still don't give up, go now, there is nothing wrong with it anyway!"
Ye Tian said with a light smile, and stood up from his seat.
He couldn't be more clear about why the people from Sotheby's came from.
The purpose of these guys is very clear, that is to come from the top antique artworks in his own hands!
Not only Sotheby's auction house, he believe it will not be long before, Christie's, Bonhams and other major auction houses will also come to the door one after another, trying to raise a batch of top lots from themselves.
Although the FBI has not officially announced the crackdown of the Thompson International Art Crime Group, in the field of antique art collection, this incident has already been circulated and almost everyone knows it!
Top international auction houses such as Sotheby's and Christie's are all well informed. How can it be possible that they are not aware of such a major event?
They probably not only know the whole story, maybe they know exactly how much Ye Tian owns and those top antique works of art.
From the day Ye Tian returned to New York, the guys at Sotheby's have been extremely enthusiastic, calling one by one, or inviting him to Sotheby's, or planning to visit!
But Ye Tian was so busy that he didn't have spare time, so how could he have spare time to take care of them! He directly declined all invitations and visit requests.
At the same time, those who were declined, there were various requests from Christie's and other guys.
Obviously, these guys still didn't give up, they just came to the door!
Two or three minutes later, Ye Tian took Jason and pushed the door into the company conference room.
Sitting in the meeting room are old friends from Sotheby's auction house.
Larry, head of jewelry, Simon, head of Impressionism and Modern Art, Robinson, head of American Contemporary Art, and the head of Modern Sculpture, are seven people in total.
When Ye Tian opened the door and came in, these guys immediately stopped talking and turned their heads to look here together. Everyone's eyes were extremely hot and full of expectation!
"Gentlemen, good morning, Christmas is coming soon, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!"
Ye Tian greeted with a smile, stepped forward and shook hands with everyone.
"Steven, good morning, and a Merry Christmas to you!"
Sotheby's people got up one after another and greeted them one after another.
"Gentlemen, on days like today, if you are not at home preparing for Christmas, why are you still in the mood to come here? I am really flattered!
I declare in advance that I did not anticipate your arrival at all, so I did not prepare Christmas gifts, I am afraid I will disappoint you!"
Ye Tian was joking, pulling a chair away and sitting across the conference table.
"Steven, we didn't come here for Christmas gifts, but you do have the best Christmas gifts in your hands, those top antique artworks brought back from Boston!
Before we get to the topic, we must first congratulate you. You have got so many top antique works of art. What a fortune it is, it is crazy!"
Robinson, the director of the American Department of Contemporary Art, said, full of envy and no secret!
The others are the same, all of them are very envious, and their eyes are almost red!
"Hahaha, it's just a coincidence! I didn't expect to have such a huge harvest. It seems that good luck has always been with me!"
Ye Tian smiled triumphantly and said, smiling very brightly.
But he didn't mention a word about the case and the specific circumstances of the antique works of art.
He doesn't mention it, doesn't mean that Sotheby's these guys don't know.
"As far as I know, in this batch of top antique artworks, there are several famous impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, such as works by top art masters such as Monet and Pissarro!
Steven, entrust us with the auction rights of these top art works. Just like the previous autumn auctions, we will definitely bid the best price and give you the perfect answer!"
Simon, the head of Impressionist art, said eagerly, with anticipation in his eyes.
As the head of Impressionist art, he naturally cares most about the top impressionist and post-impressionist artworks!
As predicted! These guys know the situation of the antique works very well!
Ye Tian vomited secretly.
But this was exactly what he expected, so he was not surprised.
"I'm very sorry, Simon, I'm afraid I can't agree. I am indeed going to send this batch of antique works to auction and auction them all, but the time is not now!
As you all know, the tax filing deadline on April 15 is not far away. I don't want to deposit a large amount of cash before this date, and I don't want to be robbed wildly by the IRS guys!
If nothing else, I would still entrust most of these top antique artworks to Sotheby's auction house, and the best time would be the New York spring auction from April to May next year!"
Ye Tian didn't conceal his thoughts, and spoke out with ease.
It's just a fool who is sending out those top antique works of art at this time. Don't he wait to be slaughtered by the US Internal Revenue Service? How much money will be lost?
What he is thinking now is how to spend money reasonably and spend huge sums of deposits lying on his bank account, so as not to make the US Internal Revenue Service take the high tax!
Rather than sending out these top antique artworks for real, it will only increase unnecessary burdens, and it will not definitely outweigh the gains!
In the field of collection, top antique artworks are equivalent to real gold and silver, which can be realized at any time, and they can also avoid taxes perfectly. There is no need to rush to sold!
As for when to send these antique artworks for sale, of course, he have to wait until the tax filing date next year, so he will have a year to figure out how to spend the money, and there are ways!
Hearing these words, the people on the other side couldn't help being stupid, all staring at Ye Tian dumbfounded, with eyes full of unbelief!
Although many people do this, it is tacit! Who is like him, who actually said it in a grandiose way, and concealed it anyway!
After a while, Sotheby's these guys just woke up.
Immediately afterwards, Robinson of the American Department of Contemporary Art smiled and said:
"Steven, you guy is so savvy, and even the IRS dares to deceive. I'm really convinced. I have never seen such a brave guy like you!
Sending those top antique artworks to the New York spring auction is indeed the best choice. If you can, I hope you will entrust all antique artworks to our Sotheby's!"
After speaking, he stared at Ye Tian eagerly, looking forward to his answer.
The same goes for the others, everyone's eyes are full of expectations.
However, they did not get the answers they wanted most.
Ye Tian shook his head firmly and rejected Robinson's proposal.
"We in China have an old saying, 'Don't put your eggs in only one basket'. The literal meaning is obvious. I believe you can understand it, but it reveals a very profound truth!
In addition to your Sotheby's, I will also commission Christie's, Bonhams and other auction houses to help me auction those top antique artworks. This is in my best interest!
As I said just now, I will still entrust most of this batch of antique artworks to Sotheby's. Our previous cooperation was very enjoyable, and there is no need to change too much!"
The voice fell, and the scene suddenly became quiet.
A trace of regret appeared on the faces of the few guys on the opposite side.
After a short pause, Robinson said with regret:
"Well, we respect your choice, although I don't think it is necessary! After all, we are the world's top auction house, and we will never do stupid things that harm the interests of our customers!
One more thing, after the New Year, we will have an American contemporary art auction. We are currently collecting lots and it will be over soon. Unfortunately, we haven't collected the heavyweight finale auction yet!
Therefore, as the director of the American Contemporary Art Department, I would like to ask you to support us and come up with one or two high-quality artworks to help us improve the level of this special shoot!
As for the settlement of the auction money, we can cooperate, delay a little bit, and strive to put it after April 15. As long as the time is not more than three months, no one can say anything!"
Having said that, Ye Tian naturally had no reason to refuse.
Convenient with others, convenient for yourself!
After hesitating for a while, he nodded and gave the answer.
"If this is the case, then I can promise to support you with two top contemporary American artworks, one is the masterpiece of abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning, "Whose Name Was Writ in Water."
The other is one of the masterpieces of the famous neo-realist painter Andrew Wise, "The Man in the Rye". These two top paintings have very different styles, and I believe they will be enough to hold up any auction!
After Christmas, I will bring these two famous paintings from the vault. I will say in advance that these two top famous paintings have reservation prices. I must ensure my own interests!"
Before the words were over, Robinson had already jumped up and began to cheer.
"Awesome! Steven, you are so generous. With these two top famous paintings, this American contemporary art auction will surely become the top special auction!
Don't worry! As long as the news of these two top famous paintings comes out, it will definitely cause a huge sensation, and there is absolutely no problem in breaking the reserve price!"
Looking at Robinson who was cheering and celebrating, the eyes of the rest of Sotheby's could not help but a glimmer of envy.
Next, the two parties continued to discuss the auction of this batch of top antique works of art.
During this period, Ye Tian also told Sotheby's in advance that these guys don't need to pay attention to the batch of Chinese antique art!
He plans to sell all the top antique artworks from China back to China through private transactions. That is where they should exist most.
As for the transaction targets, it is naturally the domestic collectors like Ma Weidu and the domestic billionaires. These are all the owners of not bad money!
Even if they don't take the initiative to contact, he believe it won't be long before Ma Weidu and his phone call will come over!
Hearing these words, the Sotheby's people naturally felt very sorry, but there was no way, who made these things belong to others! The initiative is not in their own hands at all!
Around eleven, the Sotheby's people stood up and left.
When they walked out of the brave to explore the company, these few had different expressions, some were contented and smiled brilliantly, some were a little bit regretful!
After leaving Sotheby's and his party, Ye Tian returned to the office and hadn't settled down yet, someone came to visit again!
This time it is a few from Christie's auction house, who are also old acquaintances!