The old joke is you find gentlemen trying to be auctioneers at Christie’s; at Sotheby’s it’s the other way round. So you may be surprised Sotheby’s, 1744, is the senior; Christie’s is an upstart founded in 1766.
A 20th century author (1897 – 1976) who wrote more than forty books, lots adapted for film, TV and the wireless, had four wives, two children and he has never been mentioned in almost 2,600 posts – incroyable!
Yesterday was only my third visit to the Prado but it was the most rewarding as I didn’t wander around aimlessly but concentrated for an hour on just a handful of pictures in the galleries by the main entrance at the top of a double flight of steps.