Copy at Christie’s
A global style guide
Contents
Writing goals
With every piece of copy we write, we aim to:
Guide
Help clients navigate the auction process by using clear, concise and consistent language across all touchpoints.
Inspire
Excite clients about the unique theatre of auction and the plethora of art that comes through our doors. Our copy reinforces our position as a cultural authority and entry point to the art world.
Charm
We’re a British heritage brand with over 250 years of nurturing client relationships. Our copy creates a warm and personable experience for every client, and conveys the wit and charm of our community.
Voice and tone
Reflecting our writing goals, when we write copy:
We are accessible
We write as clearly and simply as possible. We understand that auctions can be unpredictable and fast-paced, so copy that’s easy to digest is essential for our clients. Auction-world terminology is fine, as long as it's used consistently.
We are confident
We keep a measured, assured tone, avoiding hyperbolic language and the ‘hard sell’. We write from the perspective of an art-world expert (not a salesperson).
We keep things cordial
Our tone is warm, polite and obliging (but not overly informal). We’re conversational, and appreciate that our clients are as curious and passionate about art as we are.
We exude wit
We infuse our communication with a subtle blend of intelligence and wit, aiming to
entertain and inform our audience simultaneously.
While we use the same voice all the time, our tone can vary depending on the context:
UX copy prioritises clarity, consistency and warmth, especially for transactional copy.
Marketing copy, such as that used in emails and exhibition signage, can be more editorial and evocative.
Voice and tone examples
Confident, understated, authoritative
No: Christie’s is honoured to present an illustrious assemblage of masterpieces dating from the post-war period
Yes: Explore a fascinating collection of important post-war works
Open, clear, calm
No: You’ve been outbid! Bid now to secure this piece.
Yes: You’ve been outbid. Would you like to bid again?
Conversational, witty, warm, charming
No: Woohoo, you did it! You’re all signed up for a Christie's account.
Yes: Welcome to Christie’s — it’s a pleasure to have you here.
Writing for editorial
The following are set out as high-level guidance for content on Christies.com Stories. In no way should this be taken as prescriptive — there’s no wish to dampen creativity — however this will help in terms of tone and consistency across regions bearing in mind the needs of the business and the Christie’s brand, together with the global client base we’re communicating with. In addition, the guiding principles can ensure the most optimised SEO text.
Use plain and industry appropriate language and avoid jargon where possible. But remember, we are communicating to a sophisticated and culturally aware audience, therefore a degree of common sense can be deployed here as to the level of art market related terminology to be included.
Make the words earn their keep. If not entertaining, enlightening or guiding the reader to additional information, then they shouldn’t be there.
Always consider the journey onwards from your content. Make good use of prominent calls to action out to the next logical step or supplementary information. Make sure related stories and links are pertinent.
Don’t be overly formal. Writing in our space doesn’t mean the copy has to be too staid, as long as each item of content has clear purpose. We are not writing academic-style catalogue essays but stories with literary flair. Our features should feel at home in luxury lifestyle supplements, such as the Financial Times, Times Luxx, New York Times, etc.
In most instances, unless specified, stories on the features archive should be written (and edited) by our writers not our specialists. Specialists, however, should be interviewed / called upon for their expert knowledge.
Narrative is key: if there is no story, there should be no content article produced (save for exceptional scenarios pre-approved by the business and/or the content team)
Keep your reader/audience at front of mind when writing. Who are we writing this for and why?
Engaging visuals are key for both web articles and the online magazine. The picture editor and editor need to work closely to decide on the right selection of images (within budget if external agency images are being sourced). Copyright must be cleared separately if necessary (see below) for every usage of such images. When you license images you need to make sure you are licensing both photographers’ copyright and artist copyright present in the images. Lot images can be found in respective region Media Libraries using the sale number and lot barcode.
Writing for email
The purpose of our emails is to inform and excite our clients. Here are the types of content we send by email:
- Registration and welcome
- Automated notifications and updates on auctions and lots of interest
- Regular newsletters with updates on regional and global activities
- Consignment information
- Auction announcement
- Event invitations and information about public viewing
- Auction results and market reports
Building blocks
Emails form part of the client journey to discover the host of services and exceptional auctions offered at Christie’s. It should never be treated as the destination and should always elicit action from our reader. With that in mind, here are some basic building blocks to an engaging email newsletter from Christie’s.
Subject line
Keep subject lines descriptive and frontload the most important information. While best practice suggests to keep subject lines between 30 and 50 characters (with some devices only show 25 characters), we should always prioritise the inclusion of the most pertinent information in that field in the most succinct way possible. Additional information can be included in the preview line.
Subject lines should always be set in sentence case, with the exception of titles of auctions or exhibitions. Research shows that subject lines between 6 and 10 words have the highest email open rate. Email platforms recommend no more than 60 characters.
More on subject lines here.
Meta description/Preview line
This is a space where additional information can be included. Please note that not all email clients display meta descriptions, it is advisable to not include the most information in this field. The ideal meta/preview line length is between 40 and 110 characters.
Body copy
Short and concise emails are optimal for email marketing. Christie’s has an audience that values
information but our copy for emails needs to be curated to the most salient points, or those likely to
drive the most engagement. Copy should be as succinct as possible and presented to support user skimming for key information. We want to avoid using large blocks of text. We also want to use
our headings and sub-headings optimally to covert and maximise our word count. The ideal email body copy length is around 60 words maximum.
Call to action
The next step in the discovery journey for the readers should always be clear. CTAs should be action oriented and specific to the subsequent landing page. Two to five words is the ideal length for a call to action.
More on call to actions here.
Footer
Use this space to include image captions, copyright lines and other relevant legal lines.
Writing for exhibition
Creating inviting experiences is part of what sets Christie’s apart. An ever-changing hub of energy and dynamism, we open the world of art and luxury up by inviting everyone in. Enabling people to explore and interact with a piece, an artist, a collection, through varied channels and experiences that feel exciting and welcoming.
Our audience and community include creators, collectors and consignors, connoisseurs, and the curious. When writing exhibition interpretations, keep in mind that English may not be our visitors’ first language. Christie’s believes that everybody should have access to the enriching powers of art and culture, therefore, our gallery texts should be digestible, interesting and concise for all.
Gallery interpretation hierarchy
‘What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of the recipient. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.’
—Herbert Simon, Designing Organizations for an Information-Rich World, 1971
Exhibition visitors are bombarded with information — with objects, spaces, signage, text and ideas. Every element of the graphics should enhance the works on view, not to provide a comprehensive or definitive history of an artist, object or collector.
A text hierarchy offers a clear path through complex ideas and information. Here is a standard text hierarchy, with the recommended word counts.
A. Intro panel (150–180 words)
Overview of the entire exhibition, framing works on view with key themes and big ideas that point to noteworthy objects.
|
B. Section panel / Extended lot cards (100–130 words)
Section panels tie together works in an area united by a shared theme, period or artistic technique. Extended lot cards offer visitors the chance to dive deep into the backstory of a particular lot.
|
C. Standard object labels / Timeline (50–80 words)
Quick summary of the object with interesting details or history of provenance, drawing attention to the relationship between the object and the larger themes of the exhibition.
Ten points for good gallery text writing
These guidelines cover 9 points to follow to write gallery text in a way that will always be at once inspiring, inviting, illuminating and intriguing to our readers:
Inviting
1. Write as you would speak
Invite your reader in with warm and spontaneous text that is lively and easy to understand
2. Be active not passive
Use active phrases that explain information with energy and immediacy to hold your readers’ attention
3. Keep it short and snappy
Get your key messages across with concise word counts that do not overwhelm or turn readers away
Illuminating
4. Organise your information
Set out your story in easily accessible layers that communicate message, topic and theme
5. Engage with the object
Inspire readers by highlighting otherwise hidden elements and inviting them to look
6. Bring in the human element
Spark connections by revealing relevance
7. Sketch in the backgraound
Make sure you are telling the whole story, not a narrow slice that requires specialist knoweldge
Intriguing
8. Admit uncertainty
Get your readers involved and prompt thinking by being honest about what is still unknown
9. Remember Orwell’s Six Rules
Distil, distil, distil. And have fun!
Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print
Never use a long word where a short word will do
If it is possible to cut a word, always cut it out
Never use the passive when you can use the active
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday equivalent
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous
—George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946
Writing for livestream and video
Holding cards
Use holding cards sparingly in livestream.
Font styling
Leading and font size are important for legibility on screen.
Primary CTA and sale titles should be emboldened as the focus of the card.
Sans serif is more legible in most circumstances when flashed on screen.
Font should remain consistent on all cards when possible (with the exception of collection lock-ups and sub-brandings).
Logotypes and sub-brandings
Christie’s logo and sub-branding sizing and placements should be used consistently across all regions:
Any sub-branding at the top
Christie’s logotype at the bottom
Messaging
All messaging should be concise with a clear purpose and direction for the viewer, e.g.:
Postponement card should guide viewers to find the latest information.
Welcome card should give viewers all information at a glance including Date/Time/Location/Sale Title/Christie’s logo and sub-branding
Copy guidelines
Copy should always be styled in upper case for holding cards.
Punctuation limited to sentences that run on without final full stop.
British English spelling for all sales across regions following Christie’s house style.
Date should be consistent across regions (more on dates).
Time zones should always be displayed (more on time zones).
Timing is styled as 7PM: AM/PM without punctuation, figures closed up and without inclusion of colon and 2 zeros for round hour (more on time).
If we need to show timing across different time zones and one of the international timings is happening on the following day, display as 7PM GMT | 3AM (+1D) HKT.
Click here for best practice examples.
Writing for social media
Social is our digital canvas to engage, excite and entice our audience. Every post is a doorway to the captivating world of Christie’s.
It’s our chance to captivate and entice our audience, prompting them to click through to our site. Keep captions short, engaging, and exciting — incorporate snippets of storytelling and entertainment. Always conclude with a CTA to encourage further engagement and learning with Christie’s.
Brief and Engaging
Keep captions short yet compelling — grab attention swiftly.
Storytelling
Share snippets of fascinating stories or insights to captivate interest.
Visual Appeal
Pair engaging text with captivating visuals to enhance the message’s impact.
Encourage Action
Always conclude with a call to action, encouraging followers to explore.
Contextual Variation — Platform Specific
Tailor content for each platform while maintaining our engaging and informative tone.
For our detailed social media guidlines, please click here.
Writing for the homepage
Date, time and location
Abbreviate date to three letters and use en dash for ranges, eg 3 APR – 4 JUN; 1–3 APR
Use year only with single month or season, eg MAR 2025, SPRING 2025
Write locations out in full, eg LONDON, NEW YORK, PARIS
Word count
Hero sell – preferably two lines max, around 10–15 words
Tier 2 headline – two lines max, around 12–20 words
Style tips
Use simple language and auction keywords for readability and impact, eg:
- Featuring masterpieces by Basquiat, Picasso, Magritte and more
- Close the year in style with the finest jewels, watches, wine and handbags
- From Albrecht Dürer to David Hockney, explore five centuries of printmaking
- Explore ancient, modern and contemporary art from some of the world’s most vibrant cultures
For marquee weeks, vary the copy by changing the artist featured, eg:
- Featuring masterworks by [artist name] alongside other modern and contemporary icons
- Featuring [object] alongside other art from antiquity to the 20th century
Provide commercial context around editorial stories, eg:
- Banksy bonanza: up close with six works offered in Contemporary Edition: London
- Asian Art Week’s top lots: S.H. Raza, a bronze Buddha head, Ito Jakuchu’s rediscovered Crane, Pine and Bamboo and more
- A deep dive into Auerbach’s ‘Nude on Bed III’ — offered in the Modern British and Irish Art Evening Sale
Eyebrow text options
ANNOUNCEMENT
AUCTION SERIES
FEATURED AUCTION
EVENT
EXHIBITION
ON VIEW NOW
HAPPENING NOW
HAPPENING TODAY
When featuring content —
STORY
AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS
COLLECTING GUIDE
AUCTION RESULTS
INTERVIEW
CTA options
DISCOVER NOW
EXPLORE NOW
LEARN MORE
BID NOW
WATCH AUCTION
REGISTER NOW
BROWSE NOW
Writing for UX
The priority of UX copy (namely, copy found without our digital canvases) is to ensure clarity and consistency throughout the user journey.
Active voice
Write in the active voice for immediacy and brevity. Front-load your sentence with the most important words:
This:
Get a free valuation of your art or object in three easy steps
Rather than this:
Your art or object can be valued for free in three easy steps
Not sure if your copy is active or passive? Try the Monzo trick of adding ‘...by monkeys’ to the end of any phrase you think might be passive. If it still makes sense, it's passive!
Present tense
In most instances, write in the present tense:
This:
With a Christie’s online account, you can bid in auctions, follow your favourite lots and more
Rather than this:
With a Christie’s online account, you'll be able to bid in auctions, follow your favourite lots and more
There are exceptions to this rule. For example, using the future tense in some empty states can help to encourage action:
No lots yet
When you follow or bid on lots, you’ll see them here
Positive constructions
Stay positive (where tonally appropriate):
This:
Your account is 75% complete
Complete your account to register and bid in auctions
Rather than this:
Your account is 75% complete
You can’t register or bid in auctions without completing your account
Keep it short
Reduce long sentences to shorter phrases or bulleted lists, and break up big chunks of text with subheadings. Drop unnecessary words — for example, there’s no need to always say ‘please’ or ‘please note’ (unless we're asking something of particular note from our clients).
Contractions
Contractions such as ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’, etc are fine to use and can help strike a less formal tone.
Swap formal words for normal ones
Assistance --> Help
Commence --> Start
Enable --> Let
Ensure --> Make sure
Further --> More
However --> But
In order to --> To
Obtain --> Get
Provide --> Give
Query --> Question
Request --> Ask
Resolve --> Fix
Therefore --> So
Utilise --> Use
British English
Use British rather than American spelling:
Organise rather than organize
Favourite rather than favorite
Yours or mine?
We use ‘My account” and ‘My bids’ rather than ‘Your account’ and ‘Your bids’.
Buttons
Use sentence case for all buttons (eg View auction).
Make sure the CTA used is the most relevant to the action you’d like the client to perform, and that it reflects language used elsewhere in body copy.
Bullet points
As a rule of thumb, don’t add full stops on bulleted lists where each point is one short sentence or a fragment. If a bullet point is longer than one sentence, add a full stop at the end (and make this consistent for all bullet points).
Headers
Use sentence case for long headers (eg Abstract art: the names to know).
Use all caps for shorter subheads of three words maximum.
Numbers
Use numerical format for easy scanning:
You have 24 followed lots.
Date and time formats
In our canvases, use the below format for standard components:
23 April
23–25 April
23 April – 2 May
23 April, 7pm GMT
23 April, 7pm – 25 April, 10:30am GMT
For components with limited space, use a 3-letter month abbreviation:
23 APR – 3 MAY
Times use 12-hour clock. Include the timezone.
Year dates should only be used for past auctions.
Accessibility
Follow guidelines around web accessibility to ensure that our canvases are easy to use for all clients. For example, do not rely on colour to convey meaning, or put important information in a hover state that isn’t accessible via a keyboard alone.
Useful references:
https://webaim.org/articles/userperspective/
https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
UX standard terms
Auction
Not ‘sale’
Online auction
Not ‘online-only auction’ or ‘online sale’
Lot
For auctions. Not ‘item’, ‘work’
Item or work
For private sales. Not ‘lot’
Bidding starts/ends
Auction opens/closes
Bidding statuses
Long versions:
The bid is with you
You’ve been outbid
You won the lot
You did not win the lot
Shorter:
Winning
Outbid
Won
Not won
Max bid placed
Absentee bid
Other:
Payment received
You have not bid on this lot
Active/Past
For bids and private sales
Upcoming/Past
For auctions
Following
Not ‘followed’, ‘saved’. Button = Follow/Following
Account
Not ‘MyChristie’s account’
Profile
In relation to KYC - ‘Complete your profile’
Sell with Christie’s
Not ‘consign with Christie’s’
Private Sales
Capitalised when referring to ‘Christie’s Private Sales’, not when referring to general ‘private sale work’
Selling Exhibition / Loan Exhibition / Loan & Selling Exhibition
Not private selling exhibition, private sales exhibition
Client Services
Not ‘Christie’s Client Services’
Checkout
Not ‘check out’. Use as both a noun and verb.
Stories
Not ‘content’, ‘articles’, ‘features’. For content components, the heading should be either ‘Latest stories’ (on the homepage) or ‘Related stories’ for all other instances.
CTAs
Common CTAs include:
Browse
Bid
Request price (when referring to private sales work)
Share
Refresh
View results
Buy tickets
Register
Sign up
Preview
Find out more
Follow/Unfollow
Get auction estimate
RSVP
House style guide
A to Z of Copy at Christie’s
By following a house style guide, we can help keep copy consistent across all platforms. This style guide is based on New Hart’s Rule: The Oxford Style Guide, and our usual authority for spelling is the latest edition of Collins English Dictionary.
A
ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations fall into three categories.
Abbreviations in the strictest sense are formed by omitting the end of a word or words (Lieut., cent., assoc.).
Contractions are formed by omitting the middle of a word or words (Dr, Ltd, Mrs, Revd, St).
Acronyms are formed from the initial letters of words. Acronyms are sometimes defined specifically as words formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as words themselves (AWOL, PIN, BOGOF), as opposed to initialisms, which are formed from the initial letters of words but not pronounced as words (BBC, QED).
Traditionally, abbreviations end in full points while contractions do not, so that we have Jun. and Jr for Junior, and Rev. and Revd for Reverend.
This rule is hand and in general is borne out, although there are some exceptions: for example St. (= Street) is often written with a point to avoid confusion with St for Saint, and no. (= numero, Latin for number).
Lower-case abbreviations are usually written with no points (am, pm), with the exception of c., e.g., i.e, l., ll., p., pp.
Short forms of weights and measures are generally not written with a point, i.e. in for inches and cm for centimeters.
Write abbreviations ‘b.’ (born) and ‘d.’ (died) in roman followed by a point, separated by a space.
Set the abbreviation for the Latin ‘circa’, c., in roman close up to any figures following (c.1020), but spaced from words and letters (c. AD 44).
The Latin floruit, meaning ‘flourished’, is used in English where only an approximate date of activity for a person can be provided. Set the abbreviation fl. in italic before the year, year or—where no concrete date(s) can be fixed—century, separated by a space, e.g. William of Coventry (fl. 1360).
AMERICAN ENGLISH
Revert to British English spelling, except for proper nouns, e.g. Rockefeller Center
Favourite not favorite
Organise not organize
Colour not color
Honour not honor
Jewellery not jewelry
AND OR AMPERSAND
Use ‘and’ as a default (see SEO usage below). For art departments that have historically used both, revert to ‘and’.
In running text, headlines and sale titles, avoid ampersands except in established combinations (e.g. T & C) and in names of firms that use them (e.g. M&S). There should be spaces around the ampersand except in company names such as M&S that are so styled.
‘AND’ AND ‘&’ ON SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
Both the word ‘and’ and the ampersand symbol are recognised as the same word by the search engines but actual search results will vary.
Typing out ‘and’ is how most people will search, increasing the likelihood of connecting on an exact match for search phrase. Using the full word in copy is the proper use of English, which is favoured by most search engine algorithms.
The use of an ampersand (&) is only acceptable and preferred when writing meta title tags (typically limited to 70 characters).
ARTIST NAMES
If an artist is mentioned more than once, write out the full name in the first reference, then surname along for second and subsequent references.
Use judgement: if all the artists mentioned are well-known, we can drop the first names for space efficiency (e.g. Warhol, Turner, Freud). Be careful when there are several artists with the same surname (e.g. Delaunay, Rossetti, Giacometti). Err on the side of caution.
If you must write an artist's name in full in second reference because of the above rule, all artists’ names must be written in full for consistency.
Each email/job/campaign should follow an internal logic and be consistent throughout.
Two artists: format with ‘and’ in captions, i.e.
Batman (b. 1970) and Robin (b. 1982)
It is Christie’s house style to spell Paul Cezanne’s name without the acute accent on the first ‘e’ in Cezanne. The painter never signed his name with an accent on the ‘e’, these weren’t used in the local dialect of Provence where the artist is from. Instead, the accent only started to appear in texts after he arrived in Paris in the 1860s, when people often mispronounced his name. Christie’s follows the decision to use the name ‘Cezanne’ without the accent following a campaign by Philippe Cezanne, the artist’s great-grandson and honorary president of the Cezanne society, to revert his name to its original spelling.
With prefixes to proper names such as de, du, van den or von, follow the bearer’s perference if known. Within an alphabetical listing supply cross-references where necessary.
de
In accordance with French practice de should not have an initial capital (Charles de Gaulle), except when anglicised (Thomas De Quincey) or at the beginning of a sentence. Before a vowel d’ is used.
In Netherlands Dutch, de (which is the definite article) does not form the basis for alphabetisation. It is not capitalised when the bare name is used alone (de Kooning in running text if used standalone except at the beginning of a sentence). In Belgium the reverse is true.
Prefixes in Italian names are capitalised and are the basis for alphabetisation. An exception is made for aristocratic names beginning de’ or degli (Catherine de’ Medici). In Spanish names de is lower case and omitted in bare surname references, and does not form the basis for alphabetisation.
van, van de, van den, van der
In the Netherlands, van, van de, van den and van der, prefixed to a surname, are not capitalised except when there is no given name, inital, or title before Van, to distinguish it from the ordinary preposition meaning 'of' or 'from' (Vincent van Gogh and Van Gogh). In Belgium the reverse is usually true.
AUCTION SERIES
AUCTION SERIES VS MARQUEE WEEK
While the nomenclature ‘marquee week’ is widely used internally, ‘auction (sale) series’ is preferred in running text or as header in external communications.
20TH/21ST CENTURY
The nomenclature ‘20/21’ is only for internal use; always write ‘20th and 21st Century Art’ in full when referring to the department or sales format in all communications in the public domain or with clients.
The marquee week branding is ‘20th/21st Century’, but always use ‘20th and 21st Century Art’ for the name of the auction series, the department and the category.
Always use the ordinal numbers in running text, without superscript for ordinal indicators.
Solidus should be styled closed up without space.
Use a colon to separate the main title from the subtitle, in this case, the branding from the location, e.g. 20th/21st Century: London to Paris.
LUXURY
The branding has been updated to ‘Luxury’, dropping the word ‘Week’ since 2022. All assets carrying the former ‘Luxury Week’ identity should be updated as soon as possible.
Preferred way of reference in running text, e.g. our Luxury auction series or This season, Luxury at Christie's Geneva brings four exciting auctions.
B
BOILERPLATE
Always use approved language to introduce Christie's in the appropriate channels.
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business with a presence in 46 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, and flagship international sales hubs
in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. Renowned and trusted for our expert live and online-only auctions, as well as bespoke Private Sales, Christie’s unparalleled network of specialists offers our clients a full portfolio of global services, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s auctions span more than 70 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from US$500 to over US$100 million. Christie’s has sold seven of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction, launched the first fully on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art and manages an investment fund to support innovative startups in the art market. Christie’s is also committed to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide. To learn more, browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps.
C
CALL-TO-ACTION
All marketing copy should include a meaningful call-to-action that appropriate corresponds to the next step in the client journey, whether it is through the body copy or a CTA button.
Call-to-action should always be urgent and straightforward. Editors should be mindful of the landing page when choosing a CTA button.
Style all CTA copy in buttons in upper case (i.e. BROWSE AUCTION).
CTA button options include: DISCOVER MORE / EXPLORE NOW / READ MORE / VIEW RESULTS / BID NOW / RSVP / VIEW LOTS / BROWSE AUCTION / REGISTER TODAY / SUBSCRIBE NOW
More options can be explored through A/B testing with the Digital Marketing team.
CAPITALISATION
It is impossible to lay down absolute rules for all aspects of capitalisation; as with hyphenation, the capitalisation of a particular word will depend upon its role in the sentence, and also on the house style.
However, some broad principles are outlined below. Both copywriters and editors should strive for consistency.
Following the company’s strategy to create a digital-first environment, it is worthwhile to note that excessive use of capitals in emails and on online channels is frowned upon (it is regarded as 'shouting'); on websites, words in capitals can be difficult to read, and it is better to use colour for emphasis.
ART MOVEMENTS
Nouns and adjectives designating cultural movements, styles and schools—artistic, architectural, musical, etc.—are capitalised
1) If they derive from proper names, e.g.
Pre-Raphaelites
the French School
2) To distinguish them from words used in everyday speech, e.g.
Impressionist art vs impressionist comedian
Romantic (19th-century movement in the arts) vs romantic (as in 'given to romance')
Baroque (art movement from the early 17 century to the 1750s) vs baroque pearls
The word ‘art’ is put in lowercase following a movement, unless it is a sale title. ‘Post-war’, ‘contemporary’ and ‘modern’ should be sentence case unless part of a sale or department title.
DATES AND PERIODS
Capitalise the names of days, months, festivals and holidays.
Names of the seasons are lower case, i.e. Christie’s presents Classic Week in London this autumn, instead of, this Autumn.
Use lower case for millennia, centuries and decades.
EVENTS
Initial capitals are generally used for the formal names of wars, treaties, councils, assemblies, exhibitions, conferences, competitions and auction titles, e.g.
World War I (not First World War)
World War II (not Second World War)
Sensation (the Royal Academy’s 1997 exhibition contemporary art owned by Charles Saatchi)
20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale
Note that war and equivalent terms are capitalised when forming part of the conventional name of a specific conflict, but are lower case when part of a looser, more descriptive designation.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS
Capitalise names of geographical regions and areas, anemd astronomical and topographical features, buildings and other constructions, e.g.
the Milky Way (but the earth, the sun, the moon, except in astronomical contexts and personification)
Mexico City (but the city of Birmingham)
the Strait of Gibraltar, the Black Forest
the Eiffel Tower, Trafalgar Square
Capitalise compass directions only when they denote a recognised political or cultural entity, e.g.
North Carolina
Northern Ireland (but northern England)
Northern Europe
the West End
Usage in this area is very fluid, and terms may be capitalised or downcased depending on context and emphasis. Adjectives ending in -ern are sometimes used to distinguish purely geographical areas from regions seen in political or cultural terms.
When used as proper nouns, initial capitals are used for the East/West or Eastern/Western cultures. However, use judgement to avoid generalisation.
HISTORICAL PERIODS
medieval: lower case
classical: lower case
antiquity: lower case
post-war: lower case
PEOPLE AND LANGUAGES
Adjectives and nouns denoting place, language and racial, ethnic or cultural identity are capitalised, e.g. British, Swahili, Black, Indigenous, Aboriginal.
TITLES OF OFFICE, RANK AND RELATIONSHIP
Words for titles and ranks are generally lower case unless they are used before a name, as a name or in forms of address, e.g.
Winston Churchill, the prime minister vs. Prime Minister Winston Churchill
the king of England vs. King Charles
the US president vs. President Biden
the rank of a duke vs. the Duke of Wellington
a feudal lord vs. Lord Byron
a chief executive officer vs. Christie’s Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Brennan (but downcased for description of profession co-curated by artist Benjamin Spiers)
In event invitations, job titles of hosts, panellists and special guests are styled similarly to proper nouns, e.g.
Anthea Peers
President, Christie's Europe, Middle East and Africa
invites you to a panel discussion on xxx
with panellists
Dr Ridha Moumni
Deputy Chairman, Christie’s Middle East and North Africa
Isabel Millar
Associate Specialist, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s
Capitalise possessive pronouns only when they form part of the titles of a holy person or of a sovereign or other dignitary, e.g.
His/Her Majesty, Their Excellencies, Our Lady, Your Holiness
Captions may include any combination of the following, in this order:
Artist’s name (birth date–death date) [Lower case ‘b.’ for born, unless the name is in caps for print — add a space after b.],
Title of work, date [use abbreviated c. for circa (no space after c.); if two dates give brief elucidation of the reason why: e.g. ‘designed 1960, executed 1982’, ‘photographed 1934, printed 1962’]. For editorial, add link to this section to the lot.
medium [Upper case], e.g. Oil on canvas.
dimensions [for English publications: inches (in) first, then centimetres (cm) in brackets; add a space between the number and the measurement; fractions are styled in superscript, close up to the whole number; for European publications only include centimetre dimensions], e.g. 23¼ x 14½ in (40 x 20 cm) or 23¼ in (40 cm) high; 14½ in (20 cm) wide.
edition number, etc. [if relevant].
Estimate: £XXX,XXX–XXX,XXX [Estimate on request for pre-sale, Estimate not published for post-sale, Price on request for private sale].
[Sold for:] £XXX,XXX (marketing copy format)
Sold for £XXX,XXX on [sale date] (editorial format)
Artwork titles should be formatted in italics. Otherwise captions should always be shown in regular type styling. Always edit down cataloguing to simply include the most pertinent information.
No full stop at the end
Cut the locations/nationality before artist’s birth and death dates.
Avoid including property lines and (especially) information about signature, unless it is considered to be particularly important by department.
For editorial:
Linking in captions: Artist, Artwork, Date should link to the lot. Sale should link to the sale page. Image should link to the lot.
For marketing copy:
Generally, keep medium, dimensions, and, if relevant, edition number in print where you can’t click through to see details online, though they may be removed at editor’s discretion for a more streamlined design if this is considered particularly important.
Captions to appear on digital assets include only artist name and dates, title, date of work and estimate.
If only a part of the image is being shown, add ‘(detail)’ after work title in brackets.
‘SPECIALISTS’ PICKS’/HIGHLIGHT CAPTIONS
Always state ‘Estimate:’ before the estimate range.
For sale promotion emails, ‘Specialists’ picks’ captions follow this order:
either
Artist name no artist years
Artwork Title, year of execution
or
Description of object running over 3 decks max.
or
Maker
Watch name and Ref./Handbag/Jewel description (overall over 3 decks max.)
Estimate: xxx,xxx–xxx,xxx
For Post-Sale emails, highlight captions follow this order:
Sold for price in full, e.g. US$xxx,xxx
Estimate: xxxx–xxxx
either
Artist name no artist years
Artwork Title, year of execution
or
Description of object running over 3 decks max.
or
Maker
Watch name and Ref./Handbag/Jewel description (overall over 3 decks max.)
CTA>
Sale Title, Sale Location, Sale Date (applicable when 1+ auctions mentioned in the same email)
HANDBAGS, JEWELLERY, WATCHES AND WINES CAPTIONS
Highlights captions include any form of captions for marketing materials where the captions are stacked, including auction highlights, digital windows and print ads.
For Watches:
Maker and any distinctive collection/model name followed by reference number
Material description, manufactured date
Estimate
When the watch doesn’t have a distinctive model name, place the reference number on the first line following the maker. Ensure that the ‘R’ in ‘Ref’ is always capitalised and does not include a comma after the maker's name.
For Jewels and Handbags:
Maker
Material description
Estimate
For Wine:
Vineyard Vintage
Number of [wine bottle size] per lot
Estimate
For running text/footer captions, please revert to the editorial captions. Captions may include any combination of the following, in this order:
For Jewels and Handbags:
Description of material. Maker, signed and/or manufacturer, Date. Estimate
For Watches:
Maker. Description of material, Ref. number, (manufactured in) Date. Estimate
For Wines:
Vineyard Vintage. Number of [wine bottle size] per lot. Estimate
Text should be in sentence case, but with initial capitalisation for brand-specific words for Handbags (especially for Hermès), e.g.
A shiny Rose Schéhérazade lizard Sellier Kelly 25, Hermès, 2004
BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS CAPTIONS
Books are formatted according to the following:
Author, with first name followed by surname (dates)
Title, ed./trans. (with editor’s/translators dates)
Publication location: date
Estimate
If location and/or date is known/estimated but not directly stated on the book, the information goes in square brackets, e.g.
Amsterdam: [1623]; [Paris: c.1600]; [London:] 1756.
Always remove information about editors/translators unless very notable, e.g. ed. Isaac Newton (1642–1727)
Some older books have extremely long names—please condense them.
Auction highlight example for books:
Johannes van Keulen (1654–1715)
De Groote Nieuwe Vermeerderde Zee-Atlas ofte Water-Werelt
Amsterdam: 1688
Estimate: £100,000–150,000
Manuscripts are formatted according to following
Author, with first name followed by surname (dates)
Title, OR, a description of the work
language (e.g. in Latin), medium (e.g. manuscript on vellum)
Origin, date
Estimate
Author is often unknown.
The description of the work should be in sentence case and not italicised.
Language and medium are sometimes not included — this tends to be at the specialist’s discretion.
Please note that a comma, rather than a colon, separates origin and date for manuscripts.
Again, if origin location and/or date is known/estimated but not directly stated in the manuscript, the information goes in square brackets, e.g. [northern Italy, 5th century]; Lombardy, [c.1300]
Auction highlight example for manuscripts:
Homiliary of Paul the Deacon, including excerpts from Homilies by Bede
In Latin, manuscript on vellum
[Germany, Rhineland, c.800]
Estimate: £60,000–90,000
NFT CAPTIONS
Work ‘format’ is a non-fungible token (jpg).
Measurements are in pixels and bytes.
Minting date may also be included.
Auction highlight example 1 (no minting info):
Larva Labs (2005)
CryptoPunks, 2017
Non-fungible token (jpg), 24 x 24 pixels each, 9 ‘CryptoPunks’ total
Estimate: US$7,000,000–9,000,0000
21st Century Evening Sale, New York, 13 May
Auction highlight example 2 (minting info):
Beeple (b. 1981)
EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS, 2021
Non-fungible token (jpg), 21,069 x 21,069 pixels (319,168,313 bytes), minted on 16 February 2021
Estimate not published
Sold for: US$69,346,250
CHARITY ADS AND MESSAGING
CHARITY ADS
Always use approved language in print charity adverts.
Christie’s is proud to support [charity name]
Should not contain selling details, just a contact number/address and caption (no estimate or sold for price).
Exceptions possible at editor’s discretion.
LANGUAGE AROUND LOTS SOLD TO BENEFIT CHARITIES
We must include clear language in our cataloguing and marketing to let the public know which charity will be receiving funds and how much the charity will be receiving.
We must identify the charity by name (in body copy and captions) and registered charity number (or equivalent if they are registered outside the UK; in captions).
If the charity is registered outside of the UK, then please edit the wording in the relevant option in the Schedule attached which states 'registered in England' to reflect the location of where the charity is registered.
Depending on the commercial deal for the lot, you should select one of the statements in the Schedule below, considering who will be making the payment to charity (Christie’s on the seller’s behalf, or the seller directly). If your particular commercial deal is not reflected in the Schedule, please discuss with your Business Manager and Legal Account Manager. The statement must be included in cataloguing, press releases, and print and online media.
CIRCA
In body copy, the Latin ‘circa’ should be written in full and set in roman (not in italic).
In captions, circa may be used in full in editorial features. Marketing copy uses the abbreviated form ‘c.’, set in roman close up to any figures following (c.1200), but spaced from words and letters (c. late 19th century).
CONSIGNMENT MESSAGE
Avoid using industry jargons like 'consignments' and 'consign'.
Use and reinforce generic messaging wherever possible, i.e. Your collection. Our expertise.
Messaging may be adapted to the specific category of consignment, e.g. YOUR CARPET. OUR EXPERTISE. for a Rugs and Carpets print ad.
Messaging may also be used above the CTA button or as header title in a consignment email.
In tactics that do not allow for the inclusion of a header, the messaging may be expanded into a sentence format, e.g.
Luxury objects and fine art from your collection to the global auction stage, Christie’s offers unrivalled expertise in over 80 categories from antiquities to contemporary works of art.
Wherever possible, query if there are specific lots, artists, media the departments are searching for with consignment communications.
Avoid mentioning marketing leadership, especially in evergreen tactics, as that might suggest that we were not leaders previously and could set us up to return to any lower position in the future. As a business, we are of course not driven by market share, but rather by our commitment to and strong record of providing our clients with the very best service from our global team of experts at every step in their collecting journey.
For e-signatures and wherever a consignment deadline is required, use the following message, Closing date for entries: 20 January 2023.
Always encourage to contact Christie’s to discuss the market and mention possibility to include an illustrated inventory of collection.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright should always be denoted by the copyright symbol © (alt code: 1069), not the word, and spaced before credit.
Remove full stop at the end of copyright lines.
Copyright lines may also be run alongside an image or aggregated on the final page of a piece (with headers indicating which section of the piece they relate to, if necessary), pending authorising party’s approval.
Please consult departmental copyright contact, marketing manager or the relevant picture editor to clear copyright for images used in stories. All works by artists who died after 1957 are in copyright — there is a pre-exemption sale rule, however. This varies from artist to artists. But a general rule of thumb is that if sold works are to remain on site (e.g. in a collecting guide post sale), copyright must be cleared.
CURRENCY
Always use currency symbol and never write out the unit of currency, even in body copy.
Amounts of money are always printed in numerals, in full amount in body copy. For amounts of millions and above, it is permissble to round up and printed in the following conventions for subject lines, meta descriptions or general corporate communications, e.g. £456 million, US$1.5 billion.
Always include local currency for a sale. Exceptions made on an individual basis (e.g. US$ as the ‘international currency’ for global post-sale emails).
Avoid currency conversions where possible, as they quickly become outdated.
Punctuation every three digits, use comma for all English communications. Spaces are used instead for French (with currency symbol included after the digits, spaced) and full stops for other European languages, e.g.
English: £3,000,000
Français : 3 000 000 £
Italian/German, etc.: £3.000.000
BRITISH CURRENCY
Always print with the £ symbol, numerals close up and spaced before unit (abbreviated or not), e.g. £2,500,000, £2.5 million, £2.5 m.
DOLLAR CURRENCY
Sums of money are treated like those in pounds.
If context makes clear that the currency is US$ or HK$, just use $. Otherwise, specify the countries in a combination of country abbreviation and dollar symbol, e.g. US$ and HK$.
CURRENCIES USING ABBREVIATIONS
Where abbreviations are used, symbols are discarded altogether. A space is added after the abbreviation. Currenties that use abbreviations instead of symbols for Christie’s communications:
Chinese Yuan: RMB
Japanese Yen: JPY
Swiss Franc: CHF
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
NFTs and digital art are transacted through a specific cryptocurrency called Ether (on the Ethereum blockchain).
Use the Ether symbol Ξ on nft.christies.com which comes before the price.
Use the abbreviation ETH in marketing materials (e.g. body copy, image captions) after the price.
Email caption example:
Trevor Jones (b. 1970)
Convergence, 2024
Estimate: 12–15 ETH
Next Wave, Christie’s 3.0, 4–17 December
D
DASHES
EN RULE
The en rule (–) (alt + 0150 [PC] / opt + - [Mac]) is longer than a hyphen and half the length of an em rule (see EM RULE).
Use the en rule in elements that form a range:
- Closed up between numbers, e.g. 1766–2022
- Spaced between numbers and letters, e.g. 1 January – 31 December; or between letters, e.g. January – December
In specifying a range use either the formula from ... to ... or xxxx – xxxx, never a combination of the two (works are on view at Christie’s in London from 1 to 12 December, but not works are on view from 1–12 December).
The en rule is used closed up to express connection or relation between words; it means roughly to or and, e.g.
Dover–Calais crossing
editor–author relationship
Permian–Carboniferous boundary
EM RULE
The em rule (—) (alt + 0151 [PC] / Shift + opt + - [Mac]) is twice the length of an en rule.
An em rule may be used in body copy, with spaces either side in the following considerations:
A pair of dashes expresses a more pronounced break in a sentence structure than commas, and draws more attention to the enclosed phrase than brackets.
A single parenthetical dash may be used to introduce a phrase at the end of a sentence or replace an introductory colon. It has a less formal, more casual feel than a colon, and often implies an afterthought or aside.
No punctuation should precede a signle dash or the opening one of a pair. A cloasing dash may be preceded by an exclamation or question mark, but not by a comma, semicolon, colon, or full point. Do not capitalise a word, other than a proper noun, after a dash, even if it begins a sentence.
Commissioned at the height of Jacobsen’s career, the hotel was intended to be a Gesamtkunstwerk — combining many art forms — and Jacobsen designed everything from the building to the furniture and accessories.
DATES
Figures are used for days and years in dates. Use cardinal numbers not ordinal numbers for dates, i.e. 9 January 2023 instead of 9th January 2023.
Do not use the endings -st, -rd or -th in conjunction with a figure, except when referring to centuries (see CENTURIES section below). Another exception is when representing the first day of the month in French, i.e. 1er juillet not 1 juillet.
Style dates in British English in the order day, month, year, without internal punctuation, e.g. 2 November 2023.
A named day preceding a date is separated by a comma, e.g. Thursday, 2 November 2023; note that when this style is adopted a terminal second comma is required if the date is workd into a sentence, e.g.
On Thursday, 2 November 2023, Christie's will present an exciting auction.
Use the following date convention:
Monday, 1 January
14 December
16–14 December
20 March – 17 November
Use the en rule for all date ranges. See DASHES for conditions and formatting.
Dates should always follow location, e.g. ‘London, 3–7 October’.
Include days of the week in invitations and livestream emails, otherwise days may be omitted.
Reference year (for auction/viewing/event dates) on printed collateral and signage, drop on digital assets. Exception is when only month is referenced on digital assets, e.g. November 2023.
DECADES, CENTURIES, ERAS, DYNASTIES
DECADES
Always reference decades in figures, and not words.
Write the 1960s not the ’60s nor the sixties. Similarly, when referring to two decades use the 1970s and 1980s, even though the 1970s and ’80s transcribes how such dates may be read our loud.
When the name of a decade is used to define a social or cultural period it should be written as a word with initials. The difference between labelling a decade the Twenties and calling it the 1920s is that the word form connotes all the social, cultural and political conditions unique to or significant in that decade, while the numerical form is simply the label for the time span.
In a span of decades within the same century elide to retain the decades only, 1730–40 rather than 1730–1740, except in artists’ dates (and of course when a date range spans two centuries, i.e. 1820–1910).
CENTURIES
Christie’s style refers to centuries in figures, never words, i.e. 18th century not the eighteenth century. Never abbreviate centuries nor use initial capital for the word 'century' in running text or captions, unless it is included as part of an auction/exhibition title.
Always represent ordinal suffixes (-st, -nd, -rd, -th) on the line, never as superscript.
Always hyphen prefixes, e.g. mid- to late-19th century.
Always use a hyphen when used adjectivally, e.g. an 8th-century poem, the early-17th-century dramatists.
Refer to the division of centuries in words, not figures, i.e. second half of 18th century instead of 2nd half of 18th century.
Centuries BC run backwards, so that the 5th century BC spanned 500–401 BC. The year 280 BC was in the 3rd century BC.
DYNASTIES
Never use initial capitals when writing ‘dynasty’, Song dynasty not Song Dynasty.
When referencing Qing dynasty, include the specific emperor and the corresponding regnal years, i.e. Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736–95).
ERAS
The two abbreviations most commonly used for eras are BC and AD. Both written without full points.
The abbreviation BC (before Christ) is placed after the numerals, as in 1st century BC, not BC 1st century; AD (anno domini, ‘in the year of our Lord’) should be placed before the numerals, as in AD 375, not 375 AD. However, when the date is spelled out it is normal to write the 3rd century AD rather than AD the 3rd century.
The following eras should be indicated by the appropriate abbreviation before the year:
a. Abr. (the year of Abraham), reckoned from 2016 BC and used in chronicles by Eusebius and Jerome; not written AA.
AH (anno Hegirae, ‘in the year of the Hegira’), the Muslim era, reckoned from 16 July 622 (the date of Muhammad's departure from Mecca).
AM (anno mundi, ‘in the year of the world’) will normally represent the Jewish era, reckoned from 7 October 3761 BC
AS (anno Seleuci), the Seleucid era, variously reckoned from autumn 312 BC and spring 311 BC, formerly current in much of the Near East.
AUC (anno Urbis conditae, ‘in the year of the foundation of the City’), the supposed Roman era from 753 BC. This was actually used only rarely by the Romans (who had several different dates for the foundation of Rome, and designated the year by the nammes of the consuls).
The following eras should be indicated by the appriopriate abbreviation after the year:
BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era) are used instead of BC and AD, mainly when one wishes to avoid specifying dates in Christian terms.
BP (Before Present) is used by geologist and palaeontologists for dates not accurate within a few thousand years; AD 1950 is fixed as the conventional ‘present’. It is customary to use BP when discussing periods before 10,000 years ago.
F
FRACTIONS
Fractions should be closed up to the whole number.
Use superscript formatting for fractions and copywriters should always convert to decimal inch to fractions, with an eigth graduation of an inch.
½ ⅓ ⅔ ¼ ¾ ⅛ ⅜ ⅝ ⅞
H
HYPHENATION
There are two types of hyphen. The hard hyphen joins words or parts of words together to form compounds. The soft hyphen indicates word division when a word is broken at the end of a line.
Avoid soft hyphens in body copy. If possible in emails, ask the designers to put in a 'non-breaking hyphen' in the code so any hyphenated words are displayed on the same line.
HARD HYPHEN
Compound words
A compound term may be open (spaces as separate words), hyphenated or closed (written as one word). However, there is an increasing tendency to avoid hyphenation for noun compounds.
Compound modifiers that follow a noun do not need hyphens, e.g.
the story is well known
the records are not up to date
an agreement of long standing
the opportunity occurs once in a lifetime
poetry from the 19th century
While a compound expression preceeding the noun is generally hyphenated when it forms a unit modifying the noun, e.g.
a well-known story
up-to-date records
a long-standing agreement
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
19th-century poetry
Compound adjectives formed from an adjective and a verb participle should be hyphenated whether or not they precede the noun, e.g.
double-breasted suits
James Bond was quite good-looking
Do not hyphenate ajectival compounds where the first element is an adverb ending in -ly, e.g.
a newly discovered planet
a happily married couple
Adverbs that do not end in -ly should be hyphenated when used in adjectival compounds before a noun, but not after a noun, e.g.
a tribute to the much-loved musician
Freddie Mercury was well known for his stage presence
Prefixes and combining forms
Words with prefixes are often written as one word (predetermine, subculture, postmodern), but use a hyphen to avoid confusion or mispronunciation, particularly where there is a collision of vowels or consonants, e.g.
anti-intellectual
pre-eminent
re-entry
non-negotiable
A hyphen is used to avoid confusion where a prefix is repeated (re-release, sub-subcategory) or to avoid confusion with another word (re-form/reform, re-cover/recover).
Hyphenate prefixes and combining forms before a capitalised name, a numeral or a date, e.g.
anti-Darwinism
pseudo-Cartesian
pre-1990s
Suffixes
Suffixes are always written hyphenated or closed, never spaced.
The suffixes -less and -like need a hyphen if there are already two ls in the preceding word, e.g. bell-less, shell-like.
Use a hyphen in newly coined or rare combinations with -like, and with names, but more established forms, particularly if short, are set solid, e.g.
tortoise-like
Paris-like
ladylike
catlike
deathless
The suffixes -proof, -scape and -wide usually need no hyphen, e.g. childproof, moonscape, nationwide.
When a complete word is used like a suffix after a noun, adjective or adverb it is particularly important to use a hyphen, unless the word follows an adverb ending with -ly, e.g.
military-style ‘boot camps’
some banks have become excessively risk-averse
GPS-enabled tracking
an environmentally friendly policy
Compass points
Compass points are hyphenated, e.g. south-east, south-by-east, south-south-east.
Compound nouns of winds are closed, e.g. southeaster, northwesterly.
Capitalised compounds are not usually hyphenated: note that, for example, South East Asia is the prevailing form in British English and Southeast Asia in US English.
I
ITALIC TYPE
Italic type is used to style titles (but never sale titles), headings, indexes and cross-references; to indicate foreign words and phrases; and in specific technical contexts.
Series names should be set in roman and in curly quotes on first mention only, e.g.
With his celebrated 'Nudes' series from the mid-1990s, Lichtenstein... [Subsequent mentions] The Nudes series was...
FOREIGN WORDS AND PHASES
Italic type is used in English texts for words and phrases that are still regarded as foreign or need to be distinguished from identical English, e.g.
the catenaccio defense system employed by the Italians
an amuse-gueule of a tiny sardine mounted on a crisp crouton
When a foreign word becomes naturalised into English (that is, no longer regarded as distinctively foreign) it is usually printed in roman like other English words, e.g. circa, oeuvre, Belle Epoque (no French accents on initial capitals, i.e. Belle Epoque not Belle Époque). More examples:
the phrase is repeated ad nauseam throughout the book
this is one of the most recognisable motifs from the artist's oeuvre
Foreign proper names are not italicised, even when cited in their original language, e.g. avenue Matignon, Palazzo Clerici.
TITLES
Use italics for titles of artworks, series names of art, exhibitions, books, periodicals, plays, films, TV and radio series, music albums, operas, oratorios, collections of songs, etc.
Italics are used for long poems (those of book length, or divided into books or cantos), but roman in quotation marks is used for shorter poems, songs, articles and individual episodes in broadcast series.
Titles of auctions are set in roman instead of italics. For emphasis of auction titles in running text, use the phrase ‘the auction of Impressionist and Modern Art’ or ‘the online auction of Marc Chagall, Colour of Life: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate’.
Avoid using typographical distinction (in italic or bold type) for emphasis in the course of normal marketing materials, as the effect is usually too startling in running text, with the exception of instances listed above.
L
LEGAL LINES
ESTIMATE LEGAL LINE
Please note, the Estimate Legal Line is only applicable to assets produced for the EMEA region and is not required in the Americas region.
Legal line requirement, set in italics, for all English-language communication in the public domain with an estimate:
1. Auctions with printed catalogues
Other fees apply in addition to the hammer price. See Section D of our Conditions of Sale at the back of the Auction Catalogue
2. Auctions without catalogues
Other fees apply in addition to the hammer price. See Section D of our Conditions of Sale at christies.com
The fee legal line is applicable for:
Back of catalogue ads
CIRE Ads
External print ads, including FT Weekend, TAN, Telegraph, etc.
Postcards
Highlight brochures
Direct mail pieces
Off-site signage with estimates (i.e. Sculpture in the Square lot/caption card)
Vanities
Windows
Registration desk sign
Highlight videos
Single-sale landing pages and multi-sale landing pages
Christie’s Daily features
Any email that includes an estimate but does not click through to a website landing page, i.e. Evites with ‘Contact us’ CTAs
The fee legal line is not applicable for:
Any marketing communication in a non-English language
Printed event invitations
Gathering (Invitation to consign) web pages
Any email that clicks through to a web page with the disclaimer
Web adverts
WeChat adverts
e-Signatures
Exhibition signage
Facebook carousels and Instagram adverts linking to a web page with the disclaimer
Silence adverts linking to a web page with the disclaimer
SOLD PRICE LEGAL LINE
The Sold Price Legal Line is applicable to assets produced for all regions.
Legal line requirement, set in italics, for any post-sale communication in the public domain citing figures with premium included:
Sold prices include buyer’s premium; for full details see christies.com
The sold price legal line is applicable for all communications with a sold price.
PRIVACY NOTICE LEGAL LINE TO COMPLY WITH GDPR
The Privacy Notice Legal Line is applicable to any direct mail pieces (including printed and forward-friendly invites) produced for all regions. The GDPR applies to both EU businesses and non-EU businesses that provide goods and services to EU residents. Given the very global nature of Christie’s business, we will need to comply with GDPR throughout our global operations.
Legal line requirement, set in italics:
Please note that we will treat your data in accordance with our Privacy Notice, which you can see at christies.com/privacy
LOCATIONS
Only include the country when addressing an audience that is foreign to the location, e.g. an Invitation to view email addressing clients in Paris about an exhibition in London
Capitalisation may change according to the language written, e.g. write 9, avenue Matignon instead of 9 Avenue Matignon for French
When full address is not mentioned, please write ‘Christie’s [city]’ or ‘Christie’s in [city]’, with the exception of ‘Christie’s Middle East’ instead of ‘Christie’s Dubai’ due to strategic positioning.
SALE SITES
Amsterdam
Office
Vondelstraat 73
1054 GK Amsterdam
Dubai
Office and saleroom
Gate Village 5, Podium Level
Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Geneva
Office
12, Rue du Mont-Blanc
1201 Geneva
Saleroom
Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues
33, Quai des Bergues
1201 Geneva
Hong Kong
Office and saleroom
6/F, The Henderson
2 Murray Road, Central
Hong Kong
London
Office and saleroom
8 King Street
London SW1Y 6QT
Milan
Office and saleroom
5 Via Clerici
20121 Milan
New York
Office and saleroom
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
In body copy, refer our New York location as Rockefeller Center
Paris
Office and saleroom
9 Avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
OR
Paris 8e
Use the ‘Paris 8e’ convention for Parisian arrondissement for formal invitations or an elegant tone
Shanghai
Office and saleroom
4/F, BUND ONE
No. 1 Zhongshan Dong Yi Road
Shanghai 200002
Zurich
Office
Steinwiesplatz
8032 Zurich
REPRESENTATIVE OFFICES
Brussels
Temporary until early 2023
416 Avenue Louise
1000 Brussels
Dusseldorf
Inselstrasse 26
40479 Dusseldorf
Hamburg and Berlin
Wentzelstrasse 21
22301 Hamburg
Madrid
Calle Antonio Maura, 10
28014 Madrid
Stuttgart
Relebergstrasse 69
70174 Stuttgart
Tel Aviv
Museum Tower
4 Berkowitz Street
Tel Aviv
Vienna
Bankgasse 1 / Herrengasse 17
1010 Wien
N
NUMBERS
Use words for numbers below 10, i.e. one, two, three, ..., nine, 10, 11, 12, ...
Numbers are spelled out at the start of a sentence in running text, but use the figure in a subhead, e.g.
Body copy: Twenty years ago, ...
Subhead: 5 world auction records achieved
Large round numbers may be expressed in a mixture of numerals and words (6 million; 1.5 million) or entirely in words for whole numbers (six million). Only use a rounded number for headlines and subject lines, always use the exact figures in running text, e.g.
Classic Week in London totals £29.2 million
The Classic Week sale series in London totalled £29,222,910 across seven auctions
Spell out ordinal numbers — first, second, third, fourth — except when quoting from another source.
Comma are used in numbers of four figures or more, e.g. 1,863; 12,456; 1,461,523.
Use a thin space for French language, e.g. 1 863; 12 456; 1 461 523. Write with full points instead for other European languages, e.g. 1.863; 12.456; 1.461.523
There are no commas in years (with the exception of long dates such as 10,000 BC), page numbers, column or line numbers in poetry, mathematical workings, house or hotel-room numbers
Numbers at either end of a range are linked with an en rule (see DASHES for specific rules).
P
PROPERTY LINES
Remove generic property lines from cataloguing wherever possible (e.g. PROPERTY OF A LADY, etc.). Only include property lines when it is a named collection.
Generally avoid details of signatures, mounting, provenance, etc. unless pertinent to an editorial point.
APOSTROPHE
An apostrophe should always be ‘curly’. Single curly quote marks: open — alt + 0145 (PC) / opt + ] (Mac), close — alt + 0146 (PC) / Shift + opt + ] (Mac); double curly quote marks: open — alt + 0147 (PC) / opt + [ (Mac), close — alt + 0148 (PC) / Shift + opt + [ (Mac).
An apostrophe and s are generally used with personal names ending in an s, x or z sound, e.g. Charles’s, Thomas's.
An apostrophe alone may be used in cases where an additional s would cause difficulty in pronunciation, typically after longer names that are not accented on the last or penultimate syllable.
It is traditional to use an apostrophe alone after classical names ending in s or es, e.g. Euripides’, Herodotus’, Mars’, Erasmus’.
Use ’s after French names ending in silent s, x or z, when used possessively in English, e.g. Dumas’s, Descartes’s.
It is impossible to predict with certainty whether a place or organisational name ending in s requires an apostrophe, e.g.
St James’s Palace, Lord’s Cricket Ground, St Thomas’ Hopsital (not ’s)
but
All Souls College, Earls Court, Johns Hopkins University, St Andrews
SERIAL COMMA
In most occasions Christie’s house style avoids the use of a comma before and or or in a list of three or more items, which is known as a serial comma or an Oxford comma. However, the last comma can serve to resolve ambiguity, particularly when any of the items are compound terms joined by a conjunction, and it is sometimes helpful to the reader to use an isolated serial comma for clarification even when the convention has not been adopted in the rest of the text, e.g.
jewellery, watches, post-war and contemporary art, and furniture
The absence of a comma after art would imply something unintended about the furniture.
In a list of three or more items, use a comma before a final extension phrase such as etc., and the like, and more.
It is important to note that only elements that share a relationship with the introductory material should be linked in this way, e.g.
the text should be lively, readable, and have touches of humour
only the first two elements fit syntactically with the text should be; the sentence should rather be written:
the text should be lively and readable, and have touches of humour
SEMICOLON
The semicolon marks a separation that is stronger than a comma but less strong than a full point.
However, following the clarity and simplicity principle of Christie’s style, the semicolon is not used regularly. Always opt to write sentences in their own right to ensure concision.
FULL POINT
The full point is also called full stop. Full points are used to mark the end of sentences, and in some classes of abbreviation.
Do not use a full point in headings, addresses or titles of works, even where these take the form of a full sentence
If the full point of an abbreviation close the sentence, there is no second point. However, always avoid abbreviations in running text.
VERTICAL
The vertical rule, line or bar (|) is used in Christie's style to indicate separation of elements in email subject lines where text is run on rather than displayed, e.g.
Invitation to view | Classic Week | London | 2–9 December
In websites, spaced vertical lines are sometimes used to separate elements in subheads, e.g.
LUXURY
Handbags | Jewels | Watches | Wine
INTERPUNCT
The interpunct ( · , alt + 0183), also known as interpoint, middle dot or middot, is used in printed materials to separate elements in sale information instead of a comma, e.g.
AUCTION · London · 9 February 2023
PUBLIC VIEWING · 1–8 February 2023 · 8 King Street · London SW1Y 6QT
For aesthetic purposes, an interpunct can also replace a comma in subheads.
QUOTATION MARKS
Quotation marks are of two types: single (‘’) and double (“”).
When writing for digital, one should note that single quotation marks are regarded as easier to read on a screen than double ones. Christie’s style follows British practice, which is to enclose quoted matter between single quotation marks, and to use double quotation marks for a quotation within a quotation.
If another quotation is nested within the second quotation, revert to the original mark, i.e. single–double–single.
Use quotation marks and roman (not italic) type for titles of series, short poems, short stories, songs, chapters in books, articles in periodicals, and the like.
Only use quotation marks within pull quotes when attributable to a person. Do not use quote marks when the words are taken from the main body of the copy.
Quotation marks may be used to enclose an unfamiliar or newly coined word or phrase, or one to used in a technical sense. Such quotation marks should be used only at the first occurrence of the word or phrase in a work. Note that quotation marks should not be used to emphasise material.
When a grammatically complete sentence is quoted, the full point is placed within the closing quotation mark.
When the punctuation mark is not part of the quoted material, as in the case of single words and phrases, place it outside the closing quotation mark.
When a quoted sentence is a short one with no introductory punctuation, the full point is generally placed outside the closing quotation mark.
Q
QUOTATION
For pull quotes (i.e. in signage or catalogues, etc.) either use single curly quote marks or set in italic type instead, with an attribution, to signify quotation.
Attribution should be formatted with an em rule closed up to the name, e.g.
Beauty in art is truth bathed in an impression received from nature
—Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
When attributing a quotation, write the name in full if it’s an artist (e.g. Pablo Picasso, Johann Sebastian Bach), but use a first initial if it’s an academic (e.g. R. Barthes). A shortened attribution can be used on signage if full attribution is included in the catalogue.
R
REGIONS
Christie’s has a presence in 46 countries across the globe, with operations separated into three regions: the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC).
Always write out the regions in full as a first instance in body copy and job titles. If more references are required throughout a text, include in brackets the abbreviated form to use the abbreviation for brevity after the first mention.
Write ‘Asia Pacific’ without hyphen when used as a proper noun and with hyphen, ‘Asia-Pacific’, when used as an adjective, e.g.
The Henderson in Hong Kong is Christie’s headquarters in Asia Pacific.
Christie’s is active in many Asia-Pacific countries.
RESPONSIBLE CULTURE
At Christie’s we believe in the power of art in society and we endeavour to use our position in the art market as a positive force.
The words we use have power. Writing for everyone, everywhere means that we don’t exclude or harm any of our clients, even if these words have been normalised. Write for more than one perspective, and limit assumptions or biases. For example, don’t assume that your audience is white, has a binary gender, or is nondisabled.
As copywriters, we can identify when something is not in line with Christie’s values and raise this. Here are some handy tips to keep in mind:
Monitor the use of regional phrases and words
Be careful of cultural references that not everyone will understand due to age or geography
Avoid (or explain) industry jargon
Make sure that images used represent diversity
RSVP
Use the following language/formatting (as required):
RSVP [by date]
[Name]
[Email]
[Phone]
Please note places are strictly limited
S
SALE TITLES
Always in title case, never in all caps, and use a colon to separate main titles from subtitles (instead of a hyphen or comma), n.b. colon not needed to differentiate ‘Day or Evening Sale’, e.g.
Marc Chagall, Colour of Life: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate
20th/21st Century: London Evening Sale
Keep under 12 words (subtitles inclusive). Google recommends keeping the title under 60 characters, including spaces.
Write out ‘and’ as a default and avoid using the ampersand symbol ‘&’ (see section on AND OR AMPERSAND).
Do not use special characters and symbols in sale titles, e.g. verticals ( | ) or interpunct ( · ).
Avoid being too abstract and esoteric.
With creative main titles, always add a descriptive subtitle to give a clear understanding of what’s included in the sale.
Describe the sale property: include keywords that will help identify the products (like jewels, sneakers, etc.) for SEO purposes as the title gets crawled by Google and can help us rank in that relevant keyword.
If a charity sale, this should be reflected in the title, e.g. Sixty Years of James Bond: The Charity Auctions
Titles of auctions are set in roman instead of italics. For emphasis of auction titles in running text, use the phrase ‘the auction of Impressionist and Modern Art’ or ‘the online auction of Marc Chagall, Colour of Life: Works Formerly from the Artist’s Estate’.
SCIENTIFIC NAMES
Formal scientific names in Latin, Ancient Greek, Aztec, Mongolian, Xhosa and others should be styled in italics with the generic name having a capital and the species name none.
These can be abbreviated with an initial or two for convenience. Initials should always end with a full point.
Correct: Tyrannosaurus rex or T. rex
Incorrect: Tyrannosaurus Rex or Tyrannosaurus rex or T rex
SUB-HEADERS/SELL LINES/SUMMARY
Always set in sentence case and should never end in a full point.
SUBJECT LINES
Try and keep these under 60 characters.
Keep subject lines descriptive and frontload the most important information. Editors should prioritise keywords that describe the auctions over creative sale titles.
Use the meta description line to tell the client more about the content of email; do not repeat information from the main subject line.
Always set in sentence case, unless for auction/exhibition titles.
Use vertical bars ( | ) to separate information within the subject line, e.g.
20th/21st Century Art sales begin tomorrow in New York | 7–11 November
On view in London | Art from antiquity to the 20th century | 1–7 December
Use the convention A message from Christie’s or [Name, title] for corporate client emails.
T
TELEPHONES
Always style telephone numbers in international format, including trunk prefixes, if any, in brackets.
The formatting of telephone numbers usually follows a certain logic:
+[country code] (trunk prefix) [geographic area, mobile or non-geographic number] [rest of digit sequence]
London
+44 (0) 20 7839 9060
Europe
Amsterdam: +31 (0) 20 575 52 55
Geneva: +41 (0) 22 319 17 66
Milan: +39 02 303 2831
Paris: +33 (0) 1 40 76 85 85
Zurich: +41 (0) 44 268 10 10
Brussels: +32 (0) 2289 13 37
Additional Italian offices: +39 XXX XXX XXXX
Additional German offices: +49 (0) XXX XXX XXXX (i.e. + 49 (0) 211 491 5930)
Middle East and Asia
Dubai: +971 (0) 4 425 5647
Hong Kong: +852 2760 1766
Mumbai: +91 22 2280 7905
Shanghai: +86 (0) 21 6279 8773
Americas
New York: +1 212 636 2000
Los Angeles: +1 310 385 2600
Additional office numbers can be found here, though note they may need reformatting: christies.com/locations
TIME
As default, use the 12-hour clock as the formulation of times of day. The 24-hour clock is acceptable for some European countries where this is convention.
Always use figures instead of expressing time in words. In Christie’s house style, use a colon as a separator between hour and minutes.
In the 12-hour clock, use figures with am or pm without the punctuation. For a round hour it is not necessary to include a colon and two zeros, e.g. prefer 4pm to 4:00pm.
The 24-hour clock avoids the use of am and pm. In French, it is convention to use h (heure) as a separator instead of a colon, e.g. 19h instead of 19:00.
Christie’s uses the following time zone abbreviations:
Hong Kong: HKT (Hong Kong Time)
London: GMT / BST (Greenwich Mean Time / British Summer Time)
New York: EST / EDT (Eastern Standard Time / Eastern Daylight Time)
Paris: CET / CEST (Central European Time / Central European Summer Time)
V
VIEWING INFORMATION
Generally shown as dates and address. Only specify the name of the location if it is not a Christie’s address; it is not necessary to include ‘Christie’s’ if the venue is a Christie’s office, e.g.
6–8 December
8 King Street
London SW1Y 6QT
Add ‘daily’ if a viewing time range is the same for a block of dates, e.g.
6–8 December, 9am – 5pm daily
In time ranges, drop :00 by default except where they are requested for aesthetic purposes, e.g.
Reception 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Lecture 8:30pm – 9:30pm
Always specify that exhibitions and pre-sale viewings have free entry and are open to the public. This message should always appear in body copy and repeated in the viewing information section in an email, e.g.
6–8 December
8 King Street
London SW1Y 6QT
Free entry, open to all
W
WEB LINKS
Avoid using the www. prefix in urls.
Never use capitals in urls.
WORD CHOICE
Always avoid word repetitions within a paragraph.
‘Lot’ may be used instead of ‘work’ as needed. ‘Auction’ and ‘sale’ may also be used interchangeably in a paragraph.
Modifiers like ‘exquisite,’ ‘extraordinary’, ‘iconic’, ‘masterpiece’, ‘distinguished’, ‘esteemed’, ‘remarkable’ should be used judiciously and sparingly in body copy. Over-use of these words renders them meaningless.
For guidance on how to use or apply our style guide, please contact:
Suzie Wilkinson
Digital Copywriter, Global
swilkinson@christies.com
Patricia Lam
Lead Copy Editor
Marketing, EMEA
plam@christies.com
Lisa Moon
Associate Director
Creative – Marketing, New York
lmoon@christies.com