Three collectors talk buying art now, at Christie's panel

May 19. Christie's hosted a panel during its spring auction week. Three collectors on stage, one moderator, a room full of people who wanted to know what women with money are buying.

Sarah Harrelson (Christie's Americas president) moderated. The three collectors: Tiffany Zabludowicz (London-based, known for emerging contemporary), Sophia Cohen (New York, leans blue-chip post-war), and Victoria Rogers (collector and trustee at multiple institutions, buys across eras).

The format was standard panel, but the questions landed differently than the usual auction-week circuit. Harrelson didn't ask about market trends or investment thesis. She asked what they collect, why they collect it, and what they do with it after they buy it. The answers were specific.

Zabludowicz: she buys work that hasn't been validated yet. Artists under 40, mostly. She said she's less interested in resale than in supporting practices before the market catches up. Cohen's collecting skews the opposite direction. Post-war American painting, canonical names, pieces that have already been written about. She buys for long holds. Rogers said she collects across time but with an eye toward institutional donation. She mentioned lending work to museums more than once.

The panel touched on the usual territory (mentorship, access, philanthropy), but the room's attention sharpened when the conversation turned to actual acquisition. Harrelson asked: how do you decide when to buy? Zabludowicz said she visits studios before fairs. Cohen said she waits for auction lots with good provenance. Rogers said she buys when she can't stop thinking about a piece three days later.

No one mentioned AI, NFTs, or digital collecting. No one speculated on where the market's going. The panel stayed on the ground: what do you own, why do you own it, where does it go after you're done looking at it.

The room emptied before the Q&A closed. The panel ran 90 minutes. Most people stayed for 70.