Chicago’s Hindman auction house will merge with the Philadelphia-based firm Freeman’s, the oldest business of its kind in the United States. Through the merger, the two are poised to become the largest mid-tier auction house with a focus on American art.
Across the two auction houses, there are six salesrooms and 18 offices, all based in the US. Combined, that surpasses the domestic footprint of larger global auction houses, like Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips.
Operating under the banner Freeman’s | Hindman, the houses will consolidate their digital platforms into a unified website and will open a New York salesroom later this month. The newly formed company will continue to operate existing sales spaces in Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Denver, and Palm Beach.
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The merger follows Hindman’s report that it generated $99.7 million in sales in 2023. The house said it had grown its appraisal business, which brings in funds from client fees for insurance-related valuations of artworks, by 25 percent over the past year. Freeman’s, which has been operating since 1805, brought in an estimated $32 million in sales in 2023.
The two companies facilitated a combined 176 sales in 2023, with offerings spanning 20th-century art to decorative art. The top lots included works by American artists such as N.C. Wyeth and Wayne Thiebaud that were priced between $800,000 and $2 million.
In 2016 Freeman’s changed hands for the first time when the family that established it in the early 19th century transferred its controlling interest to the senior management team.
In a statement, Jay F. Krehbiel, who is slated to serve as the executive chair of Freeman’s | Hindman, said the merger is a “strategic” response to the intensifying competition within the auction circuit. Fraser Niven, the auction houses’ president, said the merger could provide greater access to international clientele.