It has been a few years since Charles Saatchi has surfaced as a seller at an auction. But this week, Christie's in London announced that Mr. Saatchi, the advertising magnate who is also one of Britain's biggest contemporary art collectors, would be selling 130 works by 97 artists, together valued at $1.6 million, on Dec. 8.
The proceeds will be used, in part, to set up a scholarship program to help pay for students' projects and commissions at four London art schools: Chelsea, Goldsmiths', the Royal College and the Slade. The money will also help finance the projects of young British artists who have left college. Members of this older group will show their work at Mr. Saatchi's London gallery on Boundary Road in the East End.
Works being sold are by leading exponents of what contemporary art lovers call the ''Y.B.A.'s,'' or Young British Artists. They include Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread and Jenny Saville. Also for sale will be art by contemporary Americans like Cindy Sherman, Charles Long, Sean Landers and Kiki Smith. Christie's estimates that the works will sell for $1,600 to $160,000 each. They will be on view from Dec. 1 through 7 at the Clerkenwell Warehouse, in the London financial district.
Over the years, Mr. Saatchi has bought and sold the work of young artists in bulk, causing the prices of other works by these artists to rise quickly when he was buying and fall as quickly when he was selling. As a master of advertising, he has also helped heighten the public's awareness of many of the artists.
For example, he lent 120 works by young British artists for ''Sensation,'' a show last year at the Royal Academy in London. (On Sept. 30, ''Sensation'' opened at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, where it will be up until Jan. 17. The Brooklyn Museum of Art has been having discussions with Mr. Saatchi's representatives about getting the show across the Atlantic, though museum officials declined to comment on this.)
Experts at Christie's were quick to say that Mr. Saatchi was not dumping art on the market because he was tired of it.
''It was difficult for Mr. Saatchi to decide what to sell because these artists are still heavily represented in his collection,'' said Graham Southern, who heads Christie's contemporary art department in London. ''They are all artists whose work he is still buying.''
In the early 1990's, Mr. Saatchi was one of Sotheby's biggest sellers, sending scores of major works by artists like Malcolm Morley, Robert Rauschenberg and Jackson Pollock to New York for sale. But Christie's has been aggressively trying to get the business. In fact, Christie's was the major sponsor of ''Sensation.''
''At the time, we didn't know there would be a direct connection,'' Mr. Southern said. ''But anybody involved in the contemporary art world is interested in Mr. Saatchi.''
Mr. Southern did not seem concerned by the poor results of a Christie's sale earlier this month that featured some of the same artists.
''That was a financial thing,'' he said. ''We hit the worst six hours in the market. But it's gotten a lot better since then.''
Shirts Speak
His paintings may be abstract, but Sean Scully's political opinions are clear. This week, every United States senator and representative received a white T-shirt that reads ''Starr McCarthy'' in a black box, and underneath in red, ''Two Great Americans.''
''I wanted to make an image with words that would help Kenneth Starr have the right place in history,'' said Mr. Scully, a New York-based artist.
He said that he also planned to put the same message on the sides of buses in Washington, and that he had been looking for a billboard to rent in New York or Washington.
''Empty billboards are hard to find,'' he said. ''So far, I haven't had any luck.''
Pink Slips
Sotheby's has laid off 20 people in its London office.
''That will be the absolute maximum,'' said Luke Rittner, senior director and head of communications for Sotheby's in Europe. ''We're in the process of a reorganization of some departments which have resulted in redundancies.''
Mr. Rittner said the cuts had nothing to do with the shrinking London art market resulting from a rising two-year-old European Union import tax.
''Business in Europe has changed, and our structure has not changed with it,'' he said, adding that Sotheby's was in the middle of expansion in Amsterdam and Zurich.
Happy Dealers
The rising stock market helped make this year's International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show in Manhattan, which closed yesterday, far more successful than anyone expected.
While not every dealer did as well as hoped, many did. Among the hottest categories: furniture as well as decorative and fine art.
''So far, I sold five pictures, among them a Vuillard, a Bonnard and a Calder, and I'm still waiting for answers on several others,'' said Waring Hopkins, the French dealer.
Art Deco and French furniture fared well, too. Patrick Perrin, the French furniture dealer, said he had sold 35 pieces, including three commodes, five tables, several consoles, sconces and candlesticks. The buyers were mostly American collectors.
''We know American taste,'' he said. ''Nothing too large because of the proportions of New York City apartments.''
Museums were also buyers. The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., bought an important pair of French Empire porcelain vases with maritime scenes for $246,500. A similar pair is in the White House.
''We've done better than we have at any fair, which we didn't expect,'' said John Hill, one of the directors of Jeremy Ltd., the London furniture and decorative arts dealers. ''These days, it's the highest quality goods that have the largest market.''