The Art of Security
Securing valuables for auction is end-to-end proposition
- By Denise S. Dieser
- Dec 01, 2008
Sotheby’s is the oldest international fine art auctioneer in
the world, where the auction of multimillion-dollar works
of art creates as much buzz as celebrity sales. Numerous
high-profile celebrity auctions have included the collections of
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
and Katharine Hepburn. In 2007, the worldwide headquarters in
New York held an array of exciting sales with property that
spanned the centuries.
The Magna Carta sold for more than $21 million, and the
Guennol Lioness brought more than $57 million, a record for an
antiquity and sculpture at auction.
Founded in London in 1744, Sotheby’s offices are now located
in 40 countries. The scope and scale of this well-known auction
house has grown considerably since its early beginnings, and
only in the last century has it expanded from book auctions to
cover all areas of fine and decorative arts.
Protection is Priority
Today, Sotheby’s continues to showcase precious art, jewelry and
priceless artifacts from around the world. From Picasso paintings
to diamonds worth millions, it is Sotheby’s No. 1 priority to protect
all property entrusted to them. These works of art and treasures
are the property of the people who have trusted Sotheby’s
with their valuables. And since protection of these assets is the
top priority, Sotheby’s in New York selected a Pelco system for
the job.
“Since the value of what is being protected is usually in the
range of millions of dollars, we installed a state-of-the-art video
security system to help ensure that these items are well protected,”
said Gary Adkins, CCTV/alarm manager of Sotheby’s
Security. “This video system is maintained 24/7, 365 days a year
by our security personnel.”
Pelco trained the security officers in New York.
System integrator MSI Security Systems Inc. of New Jersey
cited the reliability and customer support for both integrator and
end user as the reason for selecting the products in the security
installation.
Marvin Schnapper, president and CEO of MSI Security, said they worked closely with the customer to determine their needs
and then matched those needs to the best available products, which
was a combination of new and replacement/upgraded equipment.
“We took their existing system and rehabilitated it into a stateof-
the-art showplace,” Schnapper said. “Sotheby’s is a leading
company in an industry that has a lot of room for growth, and
MSI was happy to have the opportunity to work with Don
McVicker (Sotheby’s vice president director of security) and his
staff on this project.”
The system consists of 256 cameras positioned throughout the
exhibition galleries and elsewhere, including numerous Pelco
Spectra positioning camera systems and fixed cameras. The system
also consists of a Pelco 9760 matrix switch, DX8100 DVRs
and Pelco multiviewers. Adkins said the matrix switch was actually
part of their previous system.
“We scuttled the previous system and kept the console shell,”
Adkins said.
Additional Capabilities, Expansion
“Our new system is working tremendously,” Adkins said. “We’ve
been able to use the DVRs instead of using security guards to
protect the high-value art. We do this is by using them to create a
motion grid around a particular piece of art and using a relay to
trigger a siren to alert the control staff that something has broken
the motion.
“By using this feature, we are able to save considerable
expense without giving up the ability to maintain security. I am
also very impressed with the multiviewer’s ability to enhance the
picture quality.”
A problem that arose with one aspect of the installation since
the system upgrade was a shaking motion transmitted by some of
the fixed cameras. The installer tried numerous products to try
and remove the shaking but with no luck.
“I believe that replacing those other fixed cameras with Pelco
fixed cameras took care of the problem,” Adkins said. “The reason
I say this is because I have replaced two of them and they are
now working fine.”
Sotheby’s also has expanded the system so they can view live
video via their IP network from offices in various locations
throughout the United States and Canada.
“Soon, we also will have the capability to view locations in
Europe,” Adkins said. “We are looking to take our control room
global and have the New York control room act as the hub for any
disaster recovery and as the monitoring station
for our overseas locations.”
This article first appeared in Pelco Press, Summer 2008.