Christie's winter Old Masters evening is the centrepiece of Classic Week on King Street, where the house has sold paintings since 1823.
Christie’s holds its Old Masters Evening Sale at Christie’s King Street in St James’s on Tuesday 8 December 2026, at the centre of its winter Classic Week.
James Christie held his first sale in 1766, and the house has sold from King Street since 1823. Classic Week is its series for art from antiquity to the twenty-first century, held each summer and each winter.
In December 2025 the sale made £12.7 million, led by Gerrit Dou’s The Flute Player at £3.8 million. The summer evening on 30 June 2026 made £38.9 million and set six auction records, among them £9.67 million for Sir Thomas Lawrence’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington.
The winter week runs from 3 to 10 December, and its lots go on free view in the King Street galleries from 27 November.
The evening sits between the Antiquities sale on 3 December and the Old Masters to Modern Day sale on 9 December. Valuable Books and Manuscripts closes the week on 10 December. Sotheby’s holds its own Old Master evening on New Bond Street the following night.