History

^17th century
Louis XIV, Founder of the First Auction Office
In 1691, Louis XIV reformed the role of auctioneers, granting them a monopoly on public auctions. The following year, in 1692, the very first auction house—the precursor to the future Ader auction house—was established.

^18th Century
Prestigious auctions proliferate
Under Louis XVI, the term “auctioneer” appeared for the first time. From then on, prestigious auctions began to proliferate within the original office of the Ader auction house.

^19th century
The Collections of Chopin, Victor Hugo, and Sarah Bernhardt
In the 19th century, the art collections and personal estates of the era’s most prominent figures were auctioned off through our auction house.

Among the most notable sales were those of the collections of Frédéric Chopin, Victor Hugo, and the royal family—including the sale of diamonds, pearls, and gemstones from the Crown Jewels collection during an auction at the Tuileries Palace— and the auction of approximately 100,000 bottles and 57 barrels of wine from the cellars of the Tuileries, Fontainebleau, and Compiègne châteaux, the first of which took place at the Louvre Palace in 1871. A few years later, in 1883, the estates of celebrities from the Comédie-Française were sold off, including the sale of Sarah Bernhardt’s jewelry.

1931
The Rise of the Ader Dynasty
The legend of the Ader family began in 1931 with the appointment of Maurice Ader, followed by his brother Étienne in 1933. “In 1950, Maître Étienne Ader’s French auction house generated a turnover from art sales equivalent to the combined sales of Christie’s and Sotheby’s at that time,” noted a recent Senate report.

One of the most remarkable sales organized by Étienne Ader will always be that of the André Lefèvre collection at the Palais Galliera in 1965, which brought together 1,000 paintings by the most prestigious artists of his time (Picasso, Braque, Miró, Léger, Gris, Modigliani…). About thirty of these works were bequeathed to national museums.

1972
“Ader–Picard–Tajan” would come to dominate the international art market
The sharp increase in the firm’s business led Étienne Ader to partner with other colleagues. Jean-Louis Picard and Jacques Tajan joined him to form Ader Picard Tajan, which would quickly become the most important auction house of the^20th century. It dominated the French art market for more than 20 years. Its operations were not limited to Paris and France, but extended to Monaco, Geneva, Brussels, Tokyo, and even New York.

Ader Picard Tajan held its auctions in exceptional venues: on the Eiffel Tower to auction off one of its spiral staircases (156 meters long, connecting the^2nd to the^3rd floor), in Tokyo to auction the Daum collection, at the Palais d’Orsay (the current site of the Musée d’Orsay) to auction the collections from the ocean liner Normandie, and in the lobby of the Peugeot factories for a car auction…

2004
A New Partnership Driving Steady Growth
After the departure of Jean-Louis Picard and Jacques Tajan in the 1990s, Rémi Ader remained sole head of the company. In 2004, he partnered with David Nordmann, and the auction house has experienced continuous growth ever since. The auction house’s traditional specialties—such as old master paintings, furniture, and classical objets d’art—were maintained. The arrival of Xavier Dominique, a partner since 2016 and a specialist in modern and contemporary art, has also earned the auction house recognition for its expertise in 20th-century art. Since then, a series of landmark auctions has taken place over the past 15 years, including the Prévert sale in 2009, the André Bernard collection centered on Sacha Guitry in 2011, the André Level collection in 2016, and the collection of Jacques Malatier, a scholar and banker with a passion for^17th- and^18th-century art, in 2018. That same year, the^50th and final auction of the renowned collector and print dealer Henri Marie Petiet was held in the main hall of the Opéra Comique. In 2019, the works of Christian Fjerdingstad and the Riechers collection of old master paintings made headlines.

Among the highest hammer prices recorded was a Chinese imperial vase dating from the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736–1795), which sold for 2.47 million euros.

On the unusual side, a Soviet photon spacecraft—a direct witness to the space race—found a buyer for 86,000 euros; a section of the Eiffel Tower staircase sold for 180,000 euros; and the assets of the Kong restaurants, designed by Philippe Starck, and La Fontaine Gaillon, owned by actor Gérard Depardieu, were also major auction successes.

2020
A New Subsidiary Specializing in Corporate Assets
Auctioneer Elsa Joly-Malhomme has partnered with David Nordmann and Xavier Dominique of Ader to create the first auction house specializing in corporate assets: Ader Entreprises & Patrimoine. This new subsidiary is notably responsible for the auctions of equipment from Radio France and the Palais de la Découverte…

2022
New Double World Record for Jean Prouvé
On June 3, 2022, Ader will auction two “Centrale” tables, known as “Trapèze,” by Jean Prouvé (1901–1984) from the Jean Zay university residence in Antony.
Sold for €3,844,000, these two tables set a new world record for the artist and for ADER.