History
About the founding, the merger and the success story of our auction house
At the beginning of 2011, Nicolas Beurret and Emmanuel Bailly founded the auction house Beurret & Bailly Auktionen in Basel. Thus the city on the Rhine, famous for its distinguished museums and its internationally renowned galleries, launched its first auction house that specialises in fine art. Every year, important international events such as Art Basel attract numerous art lovers and collectors and that makes the city the perfect place for a young and dynamic company.
November 2011, a gallery branch is opened in Zurich.
In January 2018, Beurret & Bailly merges with Markus Schöb, owner of Galerie Widmer Auktionen, the art trading company with the longest tradition in eastern Switzerland. The union of these two auction houses, which are among the most successful and renowned in Switzerland, is a milestone in the history of both companies and a big step for the entire Swiss art market.
Thanks to its successful auctions for Swiss Art and Old Masters as well as for Modern and Contemporary Art, Beurret Bailly Widmer Auctions quickly developed into one of the leading houses in Switzerland and can be found among the most important auction houses in Europe in international rankings. The union of the young and dynamic Basel firm with the old, traditional St. Gallen company has been extremely successful.
2023 marks the beginning of a new era for our auction house, which has now become Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer. The merger with Artcurial, the most important French auction house and one of the largest international houses, means an important expansion of our network and visibility. This applies to both sellers and buyers, as our clients now have the opportunity to sell as well as buy in Switzerland, Paris and Monaco.
Although the corporate merger expands and optimises networking not only throughout Switzerland but also internationally, the regional connection and personal contact remain an important element of Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer's corporate philosophy.
The core activity of Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer continues to be the auctioning of paintings, works on paper as well as sculptures by national and international artists of various eras. Two to three times a year, works of artistic, cultural and aesthetic value are presented in Basel and St. Gallen. Our core competences are extended by new fields of expertise, for example watches, jewellery or collector's cars.
Nicolas Beurret was born in Basel. After working for many years in leading auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Phillips in Switzerland as well as abroad, he gained a rich wealth of experience in the international art market. With the opening of Phillips premises (1999) as well as his own gallery (2001) in Zurich, Nicolas Beurret established himself in the Swiss art scene.
Emmanuel Bailly, born in France, specialises in commercial law and is an art historian. He acquired his knowledge of the international art market working in different auction houses in Paris. Since 2000 he has worked as an independent art dealer, first in Paris and then in Bern, specialising in paintings, drawings and sculpture. Since 2014 he lives in Basel.
Markus Schöb, born in St Gallen, graduated with an art history and history degree from the University of Zurich. After his studies he began working at Christie’s Zurich as an expert in Swiss art. In 2004 he became partner at the Galerie Widmer, the leading art dealership in East-Switzerland, in 2014 he took over the gallery as sole managing director. In 2018 he merged with Beurret & Bailly.
