--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me that Sotheby's is very…" description: "\"It seems to me that Sotheby's is very much like the British monarchy: an old and apparently very venerable institution which is in fact very nimble on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg" --- # It seems to me that Sotheby's is very much like the… ![“It seems to me that Sotheby's is very much like the British monarchy: an old and apparently very venerable institution which is in fact very nimble on its feet, an institution invested with a great deal more self-interest than the public image would suggest.” quote by Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg) > “It seems to me that Sotheby's is very much like the British monarchy: an old and apparently very venerable institution which is in fact very nimble on its feet, an institution invested with a great deal more self-interest than the public image would suggest.” [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sotheby's appears venerable but operates with agility and self‑interest, similar to a monarchy. **In simple terms:** Institution seems old yet is agile and self‑focused. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden motives in tradition. Themes power institution tradition Mood analytical critical Type observational historical When to use this quote - art market - corporate governance - heritage brands - policy making Key Concepts economics self‑interest public perception Questions to Reflect On - What self‑interest drives historic institutions? - How does agility benefit tradition? A Different Perspective Public image may mask true priorities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British monarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-monarchy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/image/) [Institution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institution/) [Monarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monarchy/) [Nimble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nimble/) [Public image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-image/) [Self interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-interest/) ## Related quotes > [There are great truths at the foundation of Freemasonry, truths which it is its mission to teach and which is constituting the very essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/there-are-great-truths-at-the-foundation-of-freemasonry-truths-which/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [The Billy Carter of the British monarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/the-billy-carter-of-the-british-monarchy/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [The British monarchy has the political and constitutional task of subtracting from the government and governors of Britain the papal and kingly airs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/the-british-monarchy-has-the-political-and-constitutional-task-of/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [I believe that the visit of the Queen to the United States is an admirable occasion to produce an historical, truthful, sincere, genuine analysis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-believe-that-the-visit-of-the-queen-to-the-united-states-is-an/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [There are important arguments to be made about the relative merits of an hereditary or an elected head of state: but not at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/there-are-important-arguments-to-be-made-about-the-relative-merits-of/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [When it comes to the British monarchy, I prefer to be seduced by an image than presented with a real person. It's kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/when-it-comes-to-the-british-monarchy-i-prefer-to-be-seduced-by-an/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [Scandal, it bears repeating, undermines monarchies, but rarely ends them. It may be true that, according to a recent editorial in the New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/scandal-it-bears-repeating-undermines-monarchies-but-rarely-ends-them/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [“The prominent British statesman and scholar Edmund Burke (1729–1797) emphasized another fundamental characteristic of the civil society—valuing human experience, tradition, and custom. Burke was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/the-prominent-british-statesman-and-scholar-edmund-burke-1729-1797/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“One of my professors once told me that the last official act of the British monarchy was when Queen Victoria refused to sign a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/one-of-my-professors-once-told-me-that-the-last-official-act-of-the/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [In the 20th century, the position of the monarch as head of the Church of England was given a meaning which it never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-starkey/in-the-20th-century-the-position-of-the-monarch-as-head-of-the-church/) [David Starkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-starkey/) > [“In 2010, Bruce Sterling and Chris Nakashima-Brown wrote the short story “Windsor Executive Solutions,” a very future-weird speculative story about the future of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-2010-bruce-sterling-and-chris-nakashima-brown-wrote-the-short/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So this is where all the vapid talk about the 'soul' of the universe is actually headed. Once the hard-won principles of reason and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/so-this-is-where-all-the-vapid-talk-about-the-soul-of-the-universe-is/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“This is what you get when you found a political system on the family values of Henry VIII. At a point in the not-too-remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/this-is-what-you-get-when-you-found-a-political-system-on-the-family/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“There are maybe a hundred thousand political power brokers in this country who are truly invested in the perpetuation of a coin-operated government. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-potter/there-are-maybe-a-hundred-thousand-political-power-brokers-in-this/) [Wendell Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-potter/) > [The monarchy is foremost a business, and it's important to them that the British public continue to finance the excessive luxurious lifestyles of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/the-monarchy-is-foremost-a-business-and-it-s-important-to-them-that-2/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) ## More by Robert Lacey > [I lived in Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s. It was, for a Westerner, pretty idyllic. There were the religious police; there were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/i-lived-in-saudi-arabia-in-the-late-1970s-it-was-for-a-westerner/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“MODERN SAUDI HISTORY IN FIVE EASY LESSONS If you did not go hungry in the reign of King Abdul Aziz, you would never go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/modern-saudi-history-in-five-easy-lessons-if-you-did-not-go-hungry-in/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“Always in life carry this motto with you: When you lose your money, you lose nothing. When you lose your health, you lose something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/always-in-life-carry-this-motto-with-you-when-you-lose-your-money-you/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“on December 7, 2001, Osama announced that he was leaving. “He deserted us,” remembers Al-Hubayshi bitterly. “After five weeks his people came round telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/on-december-7-2001-osama-announced-that-he-was-leaving-he-deserted-us/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [The Billy Carter of the British monarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/the-billy-carter-of-the-british-monarchy/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“Compared by one commentator to “the death rattle of a seagull,” Costello’s voice was later said to have provided the model for Marlon Brando’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/compared-by-one-commentator-to-the-death-rattle-of-a-seagull-costello/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“There was no law that explicitly banned women from driving in Saudi Arabia. There is none today—the Kingdom’s notorious female driving ban is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/there-was-no-law-that-explicitly-banned-women-from-driving-in-saudi/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“Of all the varieties of modern pollution, noise is the most insidious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/of-all-the-varieties-of-modern-pollution-noise-is-the-most-insidious/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“We were not willing to be the tool of a foreign government,” remembers Sheikh Hassan today. “There were a number of people in authority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/we-were-not-willing-to-be-the-tool-of-a-foreign-government-remembers/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“What, they had asked Meyer, did he do for a living? “Business,” he replied. “What kind of business?” came the question. “My business,” came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/what-they-had-asked-meyer-did-he-do-for-a-living-business-he-replied/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [Fear generates anger, and fear generates violence, and those were part of what built the Saudi state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/fear-generates-anger-and-fear-generates-violence-and-those-were-part/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“The challenge of carving an honest and accurate accounting out of the hidden casino syndicates of Las Vegas in the early 1960s was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/the-challenge-of-carving-an-honest-and-accurate-accounting-out-of-the/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“Whoever wins society will win this war.”says Prince Mohammed bin Nayef”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/whoever-wins-society-will-win-this-war-says-prince-mohammed-bin-nayef/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“Better that anger should be directed into jihad abroad than into Iran-style revolution at home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/better-that-anger-should-be-directed-into-jihad-abroad-than-into-iran/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) > [“If you see a poor man come into your majlis, try to speak to him before you speak to the other people,” the king…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/if-you-see-a-poor-man-come-into-your-majlis-try-to-speak-to-him/) [Robert Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) [Explore all 32 Robert Lacey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/) ## More Apparently quotes > [Like funny men, skilled diners are apparently perceived to have an evolutionary advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/like-funny-men-skilled-diners-are-apparently-perceived-to-have-an/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [I'm not in the movie business anymore, and hardly any 70 year olds are. I always ask the producers: 'Are there no 70-year old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/i-m-not-in-the-movie-business-anymore-and-hardly-any-70-year-olds-are/) [Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/) > [James Cain was saddled with being called the father of hardboiled fiction. Apparently, he didn't like this saddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/james-cain-was-saddled-with-being-called-the-father-of-hardboiled/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I see myself as life-sized, certainly not a supersized personality, and apparently after 30 years of television, that's what the audience thinks of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-pauley/i-see-myself-as-life-sized-certainly-not-a-supersized-personality-and/) [Jane Pauley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-pauley/) > [“Love is insanity, apparently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-ann-haydu/love-is-insanity-apparently/) [Corey Ann Haydu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-ann-haydu/) > [Apparently texting someone all the time = dating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/apparently-texting-someone-all-the-time-dating/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [After about a month of living on my own, I began to feel it. I bought some plants. I remember I named one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristy-swanson/after-about-a-month-of-living-on-my-own-i-began-to-feel-it-i-bought/) [Kristy Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristy-swanson/) > [Been there... done that... then been there several more times... because apparently I never learn...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/been-there-done-that-then-been-there-several-more-times-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Apparently nobody really read it, it was a cheap movie, it fit their schedule in terms of things so fine, let the guy make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/apparently-nobody-really-read-it-it-was-a-cheap-movie-it-fit-their/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [My eyes are green, and in one of them there is a splash of brown - apparently it is not a colour, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wakeman/my-eyes-are-green-and-in-one-of-them-there-is-a-splash-of-brown/) [Rick Wakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wakeman/) > [Apparently, they believe they're gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-novick/apparently-they-believe-they-re-gods/) Steve Novick > [There will always be ladies who lunch. Always. And apparently they live a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/there-will-always-be-ladies-who-lunch-always-and-apparently-they-live/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [I could draw up a list of about 30 artists who I apparently sound like. From Lady Gaga, to Katy Perry to Lana Del…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-and-the-diamonds/i-could-draw-up-a-list-of-about-30-artists-who-i-apparently-sound/) [Marina and the Diamonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-and-the-diamonds/) > [The human brain has evolved the capacity to impose a narrative, complete with chronology and cause-and-effect logic, on whatever it encounters, no matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/the-human-brain-has-evolved-the-capacity-to-impose-a-narrative/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) Browse all 173 Apparently quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems to me that Sotheby's is very much like the British monarchy: an old and apparently very venerable institution which is in fact very nimble on its feet, an institution invested with a great deal more self-interest than the public image would suggest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Lacey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-much-like-the-british-monarchy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apparently" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-much-like-the-british-monarchy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d9/robert-lacey-19493_apparently_it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-mu_1718670.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It seems to me that Sotheby's is very much like the British monarchy: an old and apparently very venerable…” — Robert Lacey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Lacey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lacey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It seems to me that Sotheby's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-much-like-the-british-monarchy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lacey/it-seems-to-me-that-sotheby-s-is-very-much-like-the-british-monarchy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```