Sotheby's has dropped its flagship Gleneagles auction of Scottish art after 40 years and will now hold its biannual Scottish auctions in London, the Scotsman reports. The news comes days after rival Christie's said it will hold no more specialized sales of Scottish or Irish art.

For decades, the two auction houses have set records for Scottish painters from the Colorists to Jack Vettriano at their regular sales in Scotland, mostly in Edinburgh. Sotheby's has taken major works to Gleneagles since 1967.

Sotheby's will hope to show Scottish pictures in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Glasgow before they go under the hammer in London, said André Zlattinger, Sotheby's head of Scottish pictures. "We are not leaving Scotland."

Last week, a Sotheby's sale of Scottish pictures in London brought in nearly £3 million.

On Tuesday, Sotheby’s got hit with a sharp bond downgrade. Standard & Poor's slashed the auction house to junk-bond status, cutting its corporate rating to BB-minus from the lowest investment-grade rung of BBB-minus, and indicated that further reductions might be coming.