It was my fist visit to the New York Center of Operations for the venerable auction house of Sotheby’s. Long a Christie’s devotee, I may have to reconsider. As guests streamed into the imposing, contemporary uptown fortress at 1334 York Avenue on Wednesday, October 12, and checked their evening coats and trenches, they were greeted by an attractive flank of wait staff carrying trays of wines and canapés.