are gaining widespread popularity because it's easy to browse and buy original art. Some people may enjoy the activity, but others can relax in the comfort of their own home, while joining the bidding war and experiencing the auction from their computer screens. It's a happy medium between going to the art auction house and impersonally phoning in a bid on watercolor art, an oil painting or sculpture, to name a few.



You can view catalogs online and sign up to bid in no time at all. Auctioneers at the site will have a computer screen to see your online bids, as you place them.

World-renowned auctioneer Christie's is another worthwhile place to find an art auction online. The process is easy. You create an account, download bidding software, register for a particular live auction, enter the virtual salesroom and start bidding!

Generally, there are multiple live auctions online every single day and bidders may choose from places like Geneva, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris or Amsterdam! Each auction will list the specialization, for example: look for Impressionist and Modern Art in New York City, sporting art, wildlife, dogs in London or sculptures in Amsterdam. When it comes to software, you'll want to download a day before your scheduled auction, be sure your firewalls are temporarily turned off in your computer's control panel and be sure you have a reliable internet connection.

Christie's Live software works best with the Windows OS (or Macs booted up in Windows) and a cable or DSL connection. Working with Christie's is a great way to find and track items, as you can set an online search to notify you when items you're looking for will be appearing in auctions.

You can also place absentee bids 24 hours before the sale begins. With businesses in over 43 countries, $3.25 billion in sales within the first six months of 2007, and prices ranging from $200 to $80 million, bidders will have an excellent selection.

Like Christie's, Canadian auctioneer Heffel offers live auctions online as well. The easy "browse" menu lets you search auctions by artist (Need an Emily Carr? Paul Peel? Alfred Pellan? No problem!), by subject (such as coastal scene, figure in landscape, abstract, portrait, etc), by category (Canadian or International), and by location (Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver).

Since Canadian one is generally undervalued in the marketplace right now, you can find some tremendous deals on masterpieces done by Canadian artists! As the industry grows - which it has every year for the past decade or so - your art investment will be worth more than you paid for it.

Remember what it was like the first time you strolled through the MOMA or Metropolitan Museum of Art? Maybe you were fortunate enough to visit the Louvre in France or The National Gallery in London. The magical feeling one gets while gazing upon works of art, is one that should be captured, taken into the home and appreciated daily. Art auctions online provide easy access to a wide selection of masterpieces for you to cherish, and the art investment can even be passed down to future generations.