James Christie (1730–1803) was a Scottish

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

who founded the auction house

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...

Biography

Born 1730 in

Perth, Scotland Perth (Scottish English, locally: ; gd, Peairt ) is a city in central Scotland, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population o ...

, Christie went on to found Christie's auctioneers on 5 December 1766. Situated at Pall Mall in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Christie's Great Rooms dealt with some of the most important sales of the late-eighteenth century. His first sale took place on 5 December 1766, at rooms in Pall Mall, formerly occupied by the print warehouse of Richard Dalton. On these premises the exhibitions of the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

were held until 1779. Christie afterwards moved next door to Gainsborough, who lived in the western wing of Schomburg House. He was of tall and dignified appearance, remarkable for eloquence and professional enthusiasm, and was intimate with Garrick, Reynolds, and Gainsborough, and other men of note. He died at his house in Pall Mall on 8 November 1803, aged 73, and was buried in the burial ground of

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, United Kingdom. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. Th ...

, which was located some way from the church, beside Hampstead Road, Camden, London.

Family

Christie married twice. From his first marriage he had four sons, of whom the eldest, James Christie the Younger (1773–1831), succeeded him; the second,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, captain in the 5th regiment of Bengal Native Infantry, was killed (1812) in Persia during a Russian attack; the third, Albany, died in 1821; and Edward, the fourth son, died a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Af ...

Port Royal, Jamaica Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and c ...

, 1821.Michael, M A (2019).
Not Exactly a Connoisseur A New Portrait of James Christie
. ''The British Art Journal'' (London: Robin Simon). 19:76.

References

Source

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, James 1730 births 1803 deaths 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Christie's people People from Perth, Scotland Scottish auctioneers