Christie's Fine Art Storage Services

What Christie's Fine Art Storage Services does

Christie's Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS) is a privately held, specialized storage provider for fine art, antiques, and collectibles, founded in 1985 and headquartered in New York. According to the firmographic record, CFASS positions itself as a premier custody solution for high-value works, operating physical facilities in New York and at the Singapore FreePort — a duty-suspended Asian art hub used by collectors, dealers, and institutions transacting across the Asia-Pacific region. The company's offering is fundamentally physical: climate-controlled, secure storage designed for irreplaceable objects whose custody demands trust, specialized handling, and insurance-grade risk management rather than digital or transactional technology.

The business is small (11–50 employees per the firmographic record) and private, with no parent company, funding rounds, or subsidiaries disclosed in the supplied data. The website (cfass.com) is the principal public touchpoint, and the firm does not disclose revenue, headcount composition, customer logos, or contract terms in the available record. Two documented strategic events anchor the business: the 1985 founding that established the New York flagship operation, and the subsequent geographic extension to the Singapore FreePort that broadened access for Asian-market clients.

Because the bulk of the available structured content relates to the broader Christie's International plc auction platform rather than the storage entity specifically, the assessment is constrained by a thin firmographic data set for CFASS itself. The investment-relevant signals — revenue trajectory, customer concentration, recent capital deployment, and management roster — are not disclosed in the source material, and any inferences about the storage business' momentum, technology stack, or competitive positioning should be treated as preliminary pending additional primary research.

Name

Christie's Fine Art Storage Services

Legal name

Christie's International plc

Website

https://cfass.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1766

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Christie's Fine Art Storage Services is a private, specialized storage provider for fine art, antiques, and collectibles, founded in 1985 and operating facilities in New York and the Singapore FreePort for high-net-worth collectors, dealers, and institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Art Storage Services

NAICS

Other Warehousing and Storage (49319)

SIC

Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Item Full-Service Storage (Art, Antiques, Pianos, Wine) (HSAKAHAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Storage (Wine, Art, Document Vaults) (HSAKAGAF)

Keywords

• Fine art storage
• Art handling services
• Collection storage
• FreePort storage
• Art logistics services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Buyer's Premium: A percentage of the final hammer price charged to buyers in addition to the hammer price. The premium varies by hammer price, auction location, and category.
2. Seller's Commission: A fixed percentage commission calculated on the eventual hammer price at auction, including marketing costs and insurance coverage (except for Wine sales where marketing and insurance are charged separately). An additional 2% Performance Commission applies if the item sells above the agreed high estimate.
3. Ancillary Services: Additional services including shipping, restoration, and framing may be charged separately. These are discussed and agreed with clients beforehand.
4. Private Sales Fees: Christie's Private Sales service brokers transactions between buyers and sellers through the global specialist network, with fees based on the negotiated transaction value.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Christie's Fine Art Storage Services provides specialized storage for fine art, antiques, and collectibles from secure facilities located in New York and the Singapore FreePort. The service is aimed at private collectors, estates, galleries, and institutions requiring climate-controlled, professionally managed art storage, with handling, transport coordination, and inventory management provided through the Christie's group specialist network. Customers can also access related auction, private sale, valuation, and shipping services offered by the wider Christie's ecosystem.

Product overview

Christie's operates as a fine art and luxury goods auction house offering multiple sales channels including live auctions in salerooms worldwide, online auctions with extended bidding periods, and Private Sales for discreet, bespoke transactions. The core platform is supported by Christie's LIVE™ for real-time online bidding during live auctions, available via desktop and mobile through the Christie's iOS App. Additional offerings include complimentary auction estimates, selling exhibitions, and estates/appraisals services. The company spans over 80 art and luxury categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fine Art Storage — New York Secure, climate-controlled storage of fine art, antiques, and collectibles at the company's New York facility, serving private collectors, estates, galleries, and institutions with long-term and short-term storage needs.
• Fine Art Storage — Singapore FreePort Tax-efficient, secure FreePort storage of fine art and collectibles in Singapore, targeted at collectors and institutions that benefit from FreePort jurisdictions for custody of high-value works.
• Christie's Private Sales Discreet service for buying and selling fine art outside of the auction room via the Christie's global specialist network, with works displayed on the website and at selling exhibitions. Provided through the parent Christie's group that CFASS operates within.
• Complimentary Auction Estimates Free online valuation tool allowing clients to submit up to three images per item to receive auction estimates within 3–4 weeks, supporting storage clients who wish to consign items to auction.
• Estates, Appraisals and Valuation Services Professional valuation and appraisal services for clients with more than six items requiring appraisal, offered as a paid service through the Christie's group.
• Fine Art Shipping Coordination Coordinated fine art shipping arranged through approved shippers in each auction location, with shipping quotes provided during online checkout and bespoke shipping handled by a Post-Sale Coordinator for storage and sold items, typically delivered within 7–14 business days of payment clearance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Payment sent to sellers approximately 35 days after auction (provided buyer payment received)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Fine Art Shippers (Partners in each auction location)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerChristie's has partnered with several fine art shippers in each auction location. In some cases, shipping quotes are automatically available during online checkout. For bespoke shipping needs, the Post-Sale Coordinator provides quotes. Shipped items typically delivered within 7–14 business days of payment clearance.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• Iron Mountain: Large-scale physical storage and information management provider that has expanded into fine art and media vaulting; a broad incumbent with overlapping capability rather than a specialized art-storage focus.

Direct peers

• Masterpiece International: Specialist fine art logistics provider offering storage, crating, shipping, and installation services to collectors, museums, and galleries — overlaps directly with CFASS's storage and handling offering.
• UOVO: U.S.-headquartered fine art storage and handling operator with facilities in New York and other major art markets, offering climate-controlled vaulting and art logistics to collectors, galleries, and institutions — directly comparable service to Christie's Fine Art Storage Services.
• LP Art: Italy-headquartered fine art storage and shipping specialist with operations across Europe and the U.S., providing climate-controlled storage comparable to CFASS's specialty art vaulting.
• Cadogan Tate: London-founded specialist in fine art shipping and storage with global facilities, serving collectors, dealers, and auction houses — a directly comparable specialist storage and logistics peer.
• ARQ (formerly Crozier Fine Arts): Internationally recognized art storage, transport, and installation specialist operating major art-handling facilities in the U.S., Europe, and the U.K., serving galleries, collectors, and museums with comparable white-glove vaulting services.
• Natural Le Coultre (Geneva Freeport): Operator within the Geneva Freeport providing secure, duty-free art storage and vaulting to high-net-worth collectors — directly comparable to CFASS's Singapore FreePort positioning.

Regional players

• Hasenkamp: Germany-based specialist art logistics and storage company with strong European presence; comparable in service offering to CFASS but primarily competing in European geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cfassny

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Christie's Fine Art Storage Services