Sotheby's plans to organize a major art fair in Beijing next year, a first for a global auctioneer, reflecting the growing reliance of the international art market on Chinese buyers.

The planned event would be modeled on the annual European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands, that is known as Tefaf and is widely regarded as the premier European art gathering.

Tefaf, which plans to partner with Sotheby's for the Beijing fair, announced the plan Tuesday. Sotheby's confirmed the announcement, saying it is in 'exclusive discussions' with fair officials.

China's economic boom has fueled shopping sprees by wealthy Chinese in recent years. With the Chinese economy now cooling, Sotheby's appears to be trying to defend its share of the Chinese market by moving closer to its customers.

Chinese buyers are known to favor bidding at auction over dealing with galleries.

While auctions accounted for only 48% of the global art market in 2012, they made up 70% of art sales in China, according to statistics from market researcher Art Economics.

'Tefaf Beijing' would take place in the fall of 2014 and involve many of the 260 galleries that currently attend the Netherlands-based fair held each March, Tefaf Chairman Ben Janssens told the Journal in an interview.

The Chinese version of Tefaf would be four or five days, compared with the 10-day marathon in Maastricht that drew 72,000 visitors last year, far more than fairs like Frieze and the Art Basel fairs in Switzerland and Miami.

Dealers are still discussing what possible customs restrictions could hamper art sales, and the financing terms between Sotheby's and Tefaf could take several months to solidify, executives involved in the discussions say.

Tefaf would fully control the selection of the galleries, while Sotheby's would lend legal expertise and its data on Chinese collecting preferences mined from both private deals and auctions, Mr. Janssens says.

Sotheby's in London saw active Asian bidding at its latest contemporary art auction in February. An eager Asian telephone bidder was the lone bidder on a 1932 Picasso, inching its final price above the $40 million low estimate, while a Chinese telephone bidder snatched up an Egon Schiele work sold by Vienna's Leopold Museum for $12.4 million.

Tefaf has promoted its fair in China in the past few years, but it has been unable to sell works there without a license, which Sotheby's would provide via its joint venture with state-owned GeHua. The joint venture is 80% owned by Sotheby's and 20% owned by GeHua.

MARY M. LANE

• organize [´ɔ:gənaiz]   v.组织；编组；建立   (初中英语单词)
• international [,intə´næʃənəl]   a.国际的，世界的   (初中英语单词)
• annual [´ænjuəl]   a.每年的 n.年刊   (初中英语单词)
• european [juərə´pi:ən]   a.欧洲的 n.欧洲人   (初中英语单词)
• premier [´premiə]   n.总理 a.首要的   (初中英语单词)
• partner [´pɑ:tnə]   n.伙伴 v.同....合作   (初中英语单词)
• wealthy [´welθi]   a.富有的；丰富的   (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi]   n.经济；机制；组织   (初中英语单词)
• involve [in´vɔlv]   vt.卷缠；包括；使专注   (初中英语单词)
• journal [´dʒə:nəl]   n.日记；日报；杂志   (初中英语单词)
• estimate [´estimət, ´estimeit]   n.估计；评价 vt.估价   (初中英语单词)
• unable [ʌn´eibəl]   a.不能的；无能为力的   (初中英语单词)
• venture [´ventʃə]   n.投机 v.冒险；敢于   (初中英语单词)
• announcement [ə´naunsmənt]   n.通告；宣布；言谈   (高中英语单词)
• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ]   n.言语；言论；格言   (高中英语单词)
• dealing [´di:liŋ]   n.交易；来往   (高中英语单词)
• switzerland [´switsələnd]   n.瑞士   (高中英语单词)
• selection [si´lekʃən]   n.选择；选拔；精选物   (高中英语单词)
• contemporary [kən´tempərəri]   a.&n.同时代的(人)   (高中英语单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ]   a.难堪的；费劲的   (英语四级单词)
• auction [´ɔ:kʃən]   n.&vt.拍卖   (英语四级单词)
• statistics [stə´tistiks]   n.统计学；统计   (英语四级单词)
• version [´və:ʃən, ´və:rʒən]   n.翻译；说明；译本   (英语四级单词)
• hamper [´hæmpə]   vt.&n.妨碍，阻止   (英语四级单词)
• frieze [fri:z]   n.(墙上的)横饰带   (英语六级单词)