Richard Prince

While the market for some blue-chip contemporary art stars has rebounded from the recession, for others it remains a rocky ride. Take Richard Prince, the master of appropriation who gained widespread fame outside the art world for a collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2007. His naughty nurse series - basically pulp fiction book covers he scanned and painted over - were a flop when they first debuted in 2002, but soon became hot commodities in the boom years before the economy went belly up. In 2008, Sotheby's in London set a record with the sale of Prince's 2002 Overseas Nurse for an eye-popping $8.5 million.

At Christie's' upcoming Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on Feb. 16, however, another 2002 work, The Taming of Nurse Conway, is only expected to fetch $1.4 million to $1.9 million. It would appear the auction house's experts aren't confident of achieving a result comparable to that of Phillips de Pury, who knocked down 2004's Nurse in Hollywood #4 for an impressive $6.5 milllion back in May – which might have been a one-off considering his 2002 Millionaire Nurse (above) only brought in $2.8 million at Sotheby's in London in June. Of course that was before the Euro really went down the tubes. No doubt Prince's prices will recover when the currency of so many collectors does.

Francois Pinault is a man justifiably envied by many. With a fortune of $8.7 billion the high-school dropout-turned luxury goods titan is the majority shareholder of PPR, whose brands include Gucci, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta. He also owns famed auction house Christie's and the renowned Chateau Latour winery. His amazing contemporary art collection, worth an estimated $1.4 billion, encompasses 2,000-plus works by over 80 artists including Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, Takashi Murakami and Damien Hirst. Much of it is now housed as his two incredible private museums in Venice, the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana. Both historic buildings were transformed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando and are the subject of a smashing new book from Skira Rizzoli.

Tadao Ando: Venice - The Pinault Collection at the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana shows how Ando's designs seamlessly blend history and innovation while adhering to the strict laws governing the preservation of historic buildings in Venice. At the Palazzo Grassi, prominently located on the Grand Canal, Ando's quiet but expert renovation of the eighteenth-century rooms makes a perfect backdrop for Jeff Koons' eye-popping balloon sculptures. At the Punta della Dogana (shown on the cover above), the Venetian Republic's original customs warehouse, the large-scale space was subtly subdivided into refined rooms for installation art. The "dialogue – that is collision and friction – between the new and the old," Ando states, "is the driving force in creating a city's future."

If nothing else, you can expect a $20,000-a-night villa to deliver a few surprises. Eden Rock's Villa Rockstar, among the most ostentatious of the accommodations on St. Barths, does not disappoint. The resort demonstrates a clear commitment to art, with an on-property gallery that has hosted some impressive artists, but you have to dig a little deeper to find the truly unusual.

Works of art are littered across the resort, from the in-villa gallery at Villa Nina on one end of the property to the top-of-the-rock lobby on the other. Villa Rockstar, the largest and newest spot in Eden Rock, has a seemingly endless supply of canvases hanging, visible from the moment you pass through the front door.

The biggest name, however, is tucked away, far from common view.

Descend into the villa's basement, en route to the recording studio that house the deck used to record John Lennon's "Imagine," and step into the bathroom. As soon as you open the door, you're face-to-face with a small piece by Richard Prince.

And let's face it: nothing screams decadence like being able to keep a piece by Prince in the bathroom. It's a sign that you've come too far in life to care.




Eden Rock picked up the tab for this trip, as it would have been unaffordable otherwise. My opinions are my own.

There worse places to wait out the end of the world ...

Over the 2007/8 Christmas holiday season, artist Richard Prince developed and expected a vision of post-apocalyptic society. The world as we know it met its untimely demise as the protagonist, his family and crew sailed to St. Barthelemy, discovering the changed state of affairs only when landing on the island. Far from the decadent setting one would expect to find, the resort haven became the setting for a struggle for survival.

I came to St. Barths under far different circumstances, of course. A small plane, with room for only six passengers, deposited me on the tarmac at a tiny airport, offering stunning and alarming views of the sea during our approach. The runway, sans fence or other barrier at the end, stretches right to the beach, with only a splash of sand separating it from the lapping waves of the Caribbean Sea. The customs agent inside the small, Spartan terminal served little purpose aside from a friendly greeting and a stamp and wave with a flick of the wrist.

Richard Prince's Millionaire Nurse (detail above) painted in 2002 is one of the starring lots in Sotheby's' Contemporary Art Evening Auction in London on June 28. The consummate example of Prince's nurse paintings, estimated at about $3 million – $4.5 million, it represents a bit of a discount from the artist and Louis Vuitton collaborator's pre-recession heyday and the result will be closely watched by contemporary art experts. Also in the stunning sale: two major works by Andy Warhol – Camouflage Self-Portrait from 1986, similar in style to the one that recently set a world record, and Three Jackies from 1964 – both estimated at about $2 million – $3.5 million; Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled from 1982, estimated at $800,000 – $1.2 million; and Yves Klein's RE 49, estimated at $6.5 million – $9.5 million.

In a bold recession-defying move, Louis Vuitton just opened a massive new flagship store in London, it most luxurious yet rivaling its famed Paris property on the Champs Elysées. Designed by New York-based architect Peter Marino, who also worked on the Paris store, its most eye-catching feature is a two-story wall of trunks from various decades showcasing the Vuitton tradition of working in leather, alongside a glass and LED staircase. The 15,000-sq.-ft. store is designed to reflect the 21st century mood of London and bring together innovation, heritage and fashion - "all values that are important to Louis Vuitton," Yves Carcelle, Vuitton's chairman and CEO, told the London Telegraph.

Marino conceived the store as the home of a world-class Vuitton collector and connoisseur. The ground floor is devoted to Vuitton accessories and features original artworks from artists like Richard Prince and Takashi Murakami who have collaborated with the famed French luxury goods house in the past. The first floor is devoted to womenswear and shoes, and also houses a library of coffee table books. The store's second floor is a private client suite accessible only by invitation, for celebrities and VIPs, while menswear is located on the lower ground floor. Celebs attending the star-studded opening of the new store included Gwyneth Paltrow, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Macpherson, Gemma Arterton and Thandie Newton.

CNET founder Halsey Minor is a little closer to paying off some of his debts this week. A sale of his 22 artworks sold for $21,049,050 at Phillips de Pury & Company. Pieces include "Nurse in Hollywood #4" by Richard Prince (sold for $6.5 million) and an aluminum couch by Marc Newson( $2.1 million). The sales will go a long way toward paying off a $21.6 million judgment won by ML Private Finance, a Bank of America affiliate, on a delinquent loan owed by Minor. Bloomberg News reports that fashion designer Marc Jacobs, art dealer Larry Gagosian and jeweler Laurence Graff were in attendance at the auction.

Minor isn't quite out of the financial woods yet. Last month Sotheby's won a $6.6 million judgment against Minor after they sued for breach of contract ($4.4 million to the auction house plus another $2.2 million in interest and related fees). Minor has asserted that the auction house had failed to disclose an ownership interest in one work and he had not gotten a fair deal. He plans to appeal the the judgment. He is also battling Christie's saying that the auction house mishandled a consignment involving art by Prince. Christie's has also sued Minor over default on payments for $13 million worth of art bought at auction.

The Christie's and Sotheby's February contemporary art sales surged 255% year-over-year, thanks in large gain relative to the severely depressed baseline created by the financial crisis. Continuing a trend that began last November, with the $39 million sale of Andy Warhol's "200 One Dollar Bills," the art market's showing solid and healthy growth, not a return to the abject stupidity of 2007.

How can you tell the difference? Well, the fact that Alberto Giacometti's "L'homme qui marche I" set a new record at £58 million while Lucian Freud's much-hyped self-portrait with black eye failed to reach the low-end presale estimate, despite the fact that Sotheby's billed it as "the most important self-portrait by the artist ever to he appeared at auction." This represents a profound departure from the prices of $30 million or more that his work used to command.

At Christie's, Yves Klein was responsible for around quarter of the revenue that came in the door, though work by Andy Warhol, Peter Doig, Martin Kippenberger and Richard Prince crossed the £1 billion threshold.

The Art Market Confidence Index by Artprice indicates that art prices will increase over the next quarter.

What does 2010 have in store for the art market? Well, it's starting to look like this is the year the market will finally (begin to) recover, though there could be some trepidation at points. Better pieces are coming under the gavel, and serious collectors are interested in artists with real track records. As things loosen up, emerging artists and those just past that stage (think Ben Krell for the former and Nelson Diaz for the latter) will start to see better conditions, as the logjam in the auction houses, once broken, should ease the pressure on galleries and also lead to some progress in private sales. Basically, the return of liquidity to the art market will be better for everyone.

Almost everyone.

This year, some artists won't enjoy as much of the recovery (if it happens ... just to hedge our bets) as others. Their prices were run up too quickly, making the subsequent fall severe. These artists, auction darlings who don't have the history or potency of a Lucian Freud or even a Richard Prince. Yet, they shot out of the emerging artist category years ago. In 2010, these artists, including Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, will occupy something of a purgatory, as the art market resets values through upward bidding, now that the decks have been washed clean.

The Phillips de Pury auction on Thursday night raked in what once would have come from a single painting. Despite parading out pieces by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Richard Prince, the sale was good for a mere $7 million, with individual lots moving for prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thirty-nine went under the gavel, and eight didn't sell.

The Chelsea auction house lacks the savvy, knowledge and reach of Sotheby's and Christie's, so it had to lean on British art collector Charles Saatchi, who has agreed to complete most of his transactions through Phillips de Pury. In trade, subsidies from the auction house help keep access to Saatchi's gallery free.

Roughly a dozen of the lots came from Saatchi, while the others are said to have been rejected by Sotheby's and Christie's. In general, the pieces were "pretty skimpy," according to Manhattan art dealer Edward Tyler Nahem, who observes that the auction house "did pretty well with what they had."

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama was the top seller, with her painting "Infinity Nets (T.W.A.)" busting past its high-end presale estimate of $400,000 and settling at $842,500 (including fees). Kusama's performance follows a well-hyped exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery this year.

A lavish new coffee table book from Rizzoli titled Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture is a seductive anthology of the famed French fashion house's collaborations with an international group of elite artists, architects, designers, and photographers, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, David LaChapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Takashi Murakami (whose updated LV monogram is featured on the cover) Richard Prince and Stephen Sprouse. Beautiful images are interspersed with critical essays that examine and position Louis Vuitton's patronage, under the guidance of Artistic Director Marc Jacobs, during "one of the most fertile periods of contemporary art and design." The book is divided alphabetically so as to serve as a sort of encyclopedia of the many collaborations, commissions and sponsorships Vuitton, a cornerstone of the LVMH luxury goods empire, has engaged in over the years.

The time to grow is when the market is suffering. This must be in the back of the mind of art market guru Larry Gagosian, who has been involved with such heavy-hitter artists as Damien Hirst and Richard Prince. While there are small signs of a recovery, much is still uncertain. However, this hasn't stopped Gagosian from making a bold move: opening a branch of the Gagosian Gallery in Paris.

Bloomberg News reports that Gagosian is in talks to pick up space in the 8th arrondissement, near la rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. Nobody from the Gagosian camp has commented so far.

There are plenty of deep-pocketed art collectors in Paris, including Francois and Bernard Arnault, and the French market hasn't suffered as severely as those in London and New York. That said, Paris is the smallest of the western troika, but with a presence in the two largest markets already, the French capital was the next logical step.

Waring Hopkins, director of modern art specialist Hopkins-Custot – which is located in what is likely to become Gagosian's back yard – observed to Bloomberg, "Gagosian would instantly become one of the most important dealers in Paris," and that setting up shop in Paris "would be good for Gagosian and it would be good for the city."

The market itself is only part of what makes the expansion shrewd. Gagosian can use the space in Paris to show works from contemporary artists represented by competing galleries in New York and London.

Nobody can find a trace of the good vibes from the May contemporary art auction at Christie's. London art sales are off an estimated 70 percent this month from a year ago. The amount of top-shelf lots being offered has fallen precipitously. Auction house price guarantees are little more than a quaint novelty – this last bit spells continued heartache for the beleaguered art market.

So, if you're looking for Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon or Richard Prince, you're more likely to find them in a museum than under the gavel.

The lack of price guarantees has been particularly problematic for the art market. Without that fallback position, collectors are withholding their pieces from auction, instead pursuing private sales ... or simply continuing to hold the pieces. It follows traditional investment strategy. Would you buy high and sell low? The same thinking applies to the art market.

Last year, six works were guaranteed and sold for more than $20 million. This year, nothing is expected to cross that threshold at auction. Both Sotheby's and Christie's have shrunk their catalogues by 10 percent and are even using these auction marketing tools to promote their private sale departments.

All of this sets the stage for the upcoming Impressionist auctions at Christie's (June 23, 2009) and Sotheby's (June 24, 2009). Estimates are low, with the former at $62 million and the latter at $44 million. Last year's estimates were well over twice this year's. On the June 25, 2009, Sotheby's will hold a contemporary auction and expects to pull in a mere $31 million, down more than two-thirds. The Christie's contemporary auction on June 30, 2009 is estimated at $29 million, down 78 percent from last year's estimate. There won't be as many works from the masters coming to market, thanks to the absence of guarantees.

Looking for a cool piece by Lucian Freud? Try MoMA.

Reflecting the lower prices for contemporary art brought on by the recession, there are some relative bargains to be had at Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art auction in London on June 30. Chief among them is Jean-Michel Basquiat's Red Skull (above), painted in 1982 and estimated at only $2.4 million - $3.2 million. Other potential steals include Richard Prince's Country Nurse, est. at $2.4 million - $3.2 million; Jeff Koons' Moustache, est. at $1.9 million- $2.8 million; Francis Bacon's Study for Portrait, est. at $1.2 million - $1.9 million; and Andy Warhol's Self-Portrait, est. at only $800,000 - $1.2 million. The results will no doubt be closely monitored by art world insiders.

Christie's fought the trend and walked away with close to $94 million. Naysayers stand shocked (I'll admit it; I'm among them). This is still far from the record-setting years leading up to the current financial crisis, but only the truly stubborn would not recognize the accomplishment of coming close to the upper end of the auction house's estimate, particularly a day after competitor Sotheby's turned in such a dismal performance.

The initial estimate for Christie's Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale was $71.5 million to $104.5 million. Forty-nine of the 54 available lots were sold – a sales rate of 91 percent by lot and 94 percent by value. This easily tops the 81 percent by lot that Sotheby's hit (en route to a paltry $47 million). Thirty of the lots sold for more than $1 million each, and nine raked in more than $3 million a piece.

If you want to be negative, though, you still have plenty of ammo. Back in November, Christie's achieved a $113.6 million take with a sale rate of only 68 percent (by lot). A year ago, the auction house pulled in $331.4 million at a sale rate of 95 percent.

But, last May doesn't count. That was a last hurrah, of sorts, and most in the art community realized it, even if they wouldn't concede the obvious.