art collecting

Artsicle, New Art Start-Up Offers Art For Sale, Rent

Filed under: Art

The world of online art collecting is expanding rapidly at all price points. The major auction houses and galleries have smart phone and tablet apps for easy access and a bunch of new start-ups have flourished appealing to younger or less wealthy collectors looking for a new way to buy art that feels fresher and less intimidating. The latest is Artsicle which launches this week. Venture Beat reports that the New-York-City-based start-up not only sells art but provides rentals for those in the New York area in a try-before-you-buy arrangement. Price points are low and the artists are ones that haven't hit the mainstream yet. Many pieces are in the $500-to$1,500 range with rentals costing $50 per month.

Other art start-ups which have launched recently include Art.sy; Exhibition A, which uses a fast sale format to sell prints; and the VIP online art fair which had galleries around the world participating in an online mimicry of destination art fairs earlier this winter.

Tags: art buying, art collecting, art start-ups, artiscle

Demi Moore Brings Two Paintings To Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Celebrity Shopping, Art

Jerry Hall isn't the only beautiful woman sending art to auction this fall. Demi Moore is selling two 19th-century European paintings through Sotheby's. William Bouguereau's Frere et Soeur, an oil painting of a young woman holding her baby brother, could bring in up to $1.5 million at Sotheby's New York on November 4. It was painted in 1887. Moore bought both this painting and Mere et Ses Enfants by Belgian painter Alfred Stevens in 1995 at a Christie's auction. She paid $178,500 for Frere et Soeur and $200,500 for the Stevens painting which is estimated to sell for up to $200,000. Although Bougereau was was popular in his own time those in painting's avant-garde sneered at his fussy sentimental style. The last 30 years have seen an increase in both regard for his work and in the prices for his paintings.

"I find Bouguereau to be particularly engaging for me personally and have chosen to hold on to a smaller piece to carry with me throughout the years," said Demi Moore in a press release. "I love his combination of mythological themes, classical subjects and his photo realistic style. There is a gentleness, a serenity, particularly in his depiction of women, combined with incredible strength that has inspired me. I have owned these paintings, both the Bouguereau and Stevens, for 15 years and although I adore them, with the renovation and new direction our home is taking, it is time for a change. I am excited for a new owner to be able to share in the joy these paintings have brought us."

The November 4 auction offers 82 works with an overall pre-sale estimate of $20/30 million. The sale is timed to coincide with Sotheby's auction of Impressionist & Modern Art. Other highlights of the auction include The Finding of Moses, which stands as one of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's greatest masterpieces (estimated at $3/5 million), two excellent portraits by leading Italian Impressionist Giovanni Boldini, and important works by influential Orientalist, Sporting, French, Spanish and Polish artists. The works will be on exhibition in New York beginning October 29 in advance of the sale.

Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, demi moore, sothebys, william bouguereau

ArtWeLove: A Great First Step for Aspiring Art Collectors

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

When I first started writing about the art market, in the white-hot auction climate of the summer of 2007, I had the chance to interview Prof. Michael Moses of NYU. Co-founder of the Mei-Moses Index used to gauge the direction of art prices, he's pretty much the de facto source for issues at the intersection of art and investing. I'll never forget the advice he offered to my readers: start with prints of your favorite pieces, and as you can afford to, replace them with the real thing.

This is the exact concept I saw in action when I stopped by the ArtWeLove booth at the Affordable Art Fair to visit company founder Laurence Lafforgue.

Art We Love focuses on making works by high-caliber artists available to entry-level collectors. The archival pigment prints offered by the company are limited-edition reproductions of museum-caliber pieces from well-known artists who have agreed to work with Lafforgue to make the art luxury attainable to a broader constituency.

Tags: affordable art, affordable art fair, affordable artwork, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art exhibit, Art Exhibition, art exhibits, art fair, art market, art show, artist, Artists

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A Thing Of Beauty Is A Joy Forever... And A Good Investment?: The Return Of Passion Investing

by Susan Kime (RSS feed) —

John Keats may have been correct -- as he was with a lot of things, but he would never have imagined actually owning the beauty of nature, the thing of beauty subject he was pontificating about in the poem Endymion, or the Beauty Is Truth, Truth Beauty Grecian Urn. In both cases, he admired both nature and the Urn, but never sought to actually OWN them. That's what those 19th century Romantics did – they admired, often from afar. And often, more afar the better. But here we are in the 21st century, when those who have fiscal resources can both admire and possess them -- right now! Enter the world of passion investing.

I have written previously in Luxist concerning the changing definitions of luxury, and how in the course of a year or so, statistics show that the UHNWs and HNWs have shifted their mindset, and thus the paradigm, from conspicuous to conscious, from megalolmaniacal to mindful. This change appears to one consequence of the complex economic culture most of us have experienced since mid 2008. Luxury has evolved now into more than just a major credit card spend with an object purchase. The spend has to have the propensity to make us FEEL a certain way. It has become more about the meaningfulness and the mindfulness of the spend, with the deeper significance of having well-curated, purposeful, inspirational, authentic emotions evoked also by the object purchased.

Tags: American Express Business Insights, art collecters, art collecting, art collection, art collector, Capgemini and Merrill Lynch World Wealth reports, changing definitions of luxury, emotional assets, Harrison Group, luxury investing, luxury investments, Luxury Summit 2010, passion investing, passion investments, The Fine Art Fund, Unity Marketing

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Five Ways to Protect Your Purchases at New York's Affordable Art Fair

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The Affordable Art Fair starts on September 30, 2010, and it comes with plenty of opportunities to pick up pieces by emerging artists. Featuring works priced from $100 to $10,000, the right choices can turn into astounding art investments down the road. While collectors are drawn to the pieces themselves first, it's hard to overlook the financial appreciation that can occur, especially as the art market claws its way back from financial crisis lows.

What happens if your artwork is damaged? Collectors don't always spend enough time thinking about the financial side of their holdings, and art insurance can be an afterthought. So, it might not be a bad idea to invest a little in protecting your work.

"After taking the time to evaluate a work of art, but before making a purchase, it is important that collectors consider how they are going to protect their investment," said Andrew Gristina, Fine Art Specialist, Travelers Inland Marine. "Most people buy art because of the aesthetic beauty, however, it's also a financial investment, which is why insurance coverage and proper handling should be a consideration with each purchase."

Here are three five steps you can take to protect what you pick up at the Affordable Art Fair (or anywhere else):

Tags: affordable art, affordable art fair, affordable artwork, art, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art fair, art work, artist, Artists, awards-main, decor-pedia, emerging artists, financial crisis, insurance, luxist-awards, main-pedia, manhattan, new york, new york city

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The Big Deals TEFAF Didn't Mention

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

You know how it is in the art scene: big checks, big names and big egos like to stay under the radar. Anonymity is the norm, of course, and the buyers of Rothkos and Basquiats don't like to see their names in press releases. Yet, a look under the covers of the TEFAF Maasricht art fair shows that some pretty important pieces moved for some rather hefty amounts. The billionaires came out to play, and dealer and galleries were more than ready to accommodate.

Over 10-days, $2.7 billion of inventory was offered t dealers and museums from around the world. Prices edged higher thanks to a recovering art market, and impressive pieces found new homes. Jean-Michel's Basquiat's "Busted Atlas 2" was picked up for $2.4 million by a German collector, sold by Van de Weghe Fine Art, a gallery in New York.

Nonetheless, it's not like the art bubble. David Leiber, of New York's Sperone Westwater gallery, tells Bloomberg News, "Collectors are adjusting to the new values. We have to charge these prices because we can't replace these works." He adds, "There may be some people who went a little overboard at the auctions," a sentiment echoed by Paolo Vedovi of Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi. Vedovi observes, "Auctions are almost a separate market," continuing, "We don't see many of those people. Art fairs aren't as spontaneous. Buyers are cautious and they need to think."

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Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, basquiat, galleries, gallery, maastricht, rothko, tefaf

TEFAF Boasts of Art Market Recovery

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

Plenty of art moved at TEFAF Maastricht 2010, and collectors were willing to deal with the prices ... and enjoy their stays in style. According to a statement by TEFAF, many international collectors took private jets to Maastricht/Aachen Airport, where 171 private aircraft landed during the fair. Eighty-two of them touched down in time for the Private View on March 11, 2010. U.S. collectors were back in the game, and the Europeans amped up the intensity, too.

TEFAF attracted 263 dealers and representatives from more than 150 museums from more than 17 countries, which contributed to the robust marketplace (along with the change in global economic circumstances , of course). TEFAF on Paper, a new section at the fair, featured a wide range of prints, drawings and photographs, among others. Parisian dealer Tanakaya moved two early prints, very rare, by Hashiguchi Goyô, entitled Kami sukero Onna, 1921 and Keshô no Onna, 1918. They sold for €32,000 and €30,000 respectively.

Over in the antiquities section, dealer Rupert Wace of London moved an Egyptian Wood Mummy Mask at an asking price of €150,000 (final price not announced) to a private collector. He also sold a Roman bronze statuette of Aphrodite wearing a silver diadem. The piece was from the first century and is headed for a private museum in France.

Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, kandinsky, maastricht, private jets, tefaf

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Tefaf Dealers Pricing Art Aggressively

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The action in Maastricht is expected to be hot. Two hundred sixty-three dealers will descend upon the Dutch city, bringing art inventory worth $2.7 billion to the world's largest art and antiques fair, Tefaf. Fingers are crossed that billion-dollar collectors will come out to play. The market has turned the corner, but the community mains reluctant to get its collective hopes up.

For the art market, this is the first chance to see how high demand for art is outside the auction houses. Private deals don't offer the transparency of the gavel scene, but the transactions can be far more interesting. By the end of Tefaf, we'll know just how deep the art market recovery is running. VIP guests will be allowed to visit tomorrow, ahead of the great unwashed.

The largest group of dealers at Tefaf this year will be those representing pre-20th century pictures, with more than 70 exhibitors. Sandro Botticelli's "Madonna and Child with the Infant Sant John," reaching back to the late fifteenth century, will be available for $15 million by Dickinson of London. Dickinson is also showing Paul Gauguin's "Deux Femmes," with a price tag of $24.4 million. Both are being sold by private collectors.

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Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art market, maastricht, Netherlands, tefaf

Four Reasons Optimism Was Seen at New York's Armory Week Art Fair

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

For the past week, the art community has focused on New York City's annual Armory event, in which artists put their best pieces forward, dealers and galleries are on the prowl and collectors look for new finds that will someday redefine their portfolios. Momentum from the contemporary art auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's was certainly present, as all in attendance seemed focused on opportunity rather than window-shopping. The efforts at the Armory were consistent with a marketplace that's active, not the crushing fear that characterized the art market through the second half of 2008 and most of 2009.

1. Koons went bare
What was expected to be the most controversial event of Armory Week turned out to be subdued, though well attended. Jeff Koons offered a tribute to open sexuality with an exhibition that opened last Tuesday. Protesters weren't in sight, but musicians Cyndi Lauper and The Edge (guitarist for U2) checked out the show.

2. Solo booths were back in style
According to ArtInfo, "Solo artist booths were everywhere you looked." Individuals were ready to put themselves out into the market. Collectors had the opportunity to focus on specific artists as a result, rather than see disparate artwork crammed together by galleries and dealers managing inventory as if they were grocers. The good news, however, is that this shift isn't indicative of an art market slump. Rather, it's a sign of optimism. There's a belief out there that art collectors are ready to buy, especially given what we've seen at auction so far this year.

Tags: armory, art, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, art show, artist, Artists, Christies, contemporary art, galleries, gallery, Jeff Koons, manhattan, new york, new york city, sothebys, upper east side

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Freud Flops at Sotheby's Surges in Contemporary Art Auction

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

It looks like art market watchers (including me) were right for the wrong reasons. At the Sotheby's contemporary art auction last night, $84.5 million in sales were completed, but the highly coveted Lucian Freud didn't hit its low estimate. Lucio Fontana, Yves Klein, Willem de Kooning, Peter Doig and Frank Auerbach, however, led to pitched bidding battles.

The evening's highest price was paid for de Kooning's "Untitled XIV," which fetched 4 million pounds over the phone, beating its high-end estimate by a third. The seller was a collector from Europe who picked up the painting from the artist's estate. Doig's "Saint Anton (Flat Light)," an Alpine scene, was good for 2.8 million, also via phone.

But, Lucian Freud still stole the spotlight, if not the top bid. His self-portrait with a black eye carried a low-end presale estimate of 2.8 million – after having been offered at a lower price in private sale before the auction. The seller, Victor Chandler, is a bookmaker based in Gibraltar with a penchant for secrecy: his press officer refused to be named (according to Bloomberg News).

The Lenz collection, also high-profile, performed very well at Sotheby's. Only one of the 47 lots wasn't able to move, and the entire collection sold for 23.2 million pounds, soundly beating a presale estimate of 11.2 million pounds to 15.2 million pounds. The most expensive piece was Klein's "Fire" painting "F 88," which brought in 3.3 million pounds, just shy of its high estimate of 3.5 million.

The evening's surprise came from Auerbach, who's 1956 drawing was purchased by London art dealer Offer Waterman for 1 million pounds, far above the presale estimate of 50,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds. Interestingly, Sotheby's senior international specialist Oliver Barker noted to Bloomberg News, "The gap between Auerbach and Freud and Bacon is closing." Are we seeing a new evolution in the Francis Bacon supply chain?

Overall, the contemporary art auction beat its high-end presale estimate of 45 million pounds and thrashed the 2009 result for the same auction, a mere 17.9 million pounds for 27 lots.

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, ArtDealer, ArtMarket, auction house, auction houses, AuctionHouse, AuctionHouses, francis bacon, FrancisBacon, london, lucian freud, LucianFreud, peter doig, PeterDoig, Sotheby, sothebys, Willem De Kooning, WillemDeKooning, yves klein, YvesKlein

Russians, Chinese and British Diamond Dealer Fueling Art Market

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

All secrets eventually come out. At the recent London auctions, in which both Sotheby's and Christie's saw several lots set records, Russian collectors poured some money back into the art market, and Laurence Graff, chairman of Graff Diamonds, parted with a healthy dose of cash. It's this action that caused a combined tally of £258.9 million (including fees), more than double the result a year earlier.

The UK-based diamond dealer sunk £8.1 million into Pablo Picasso's "Tete de Femme (Jacqueline) at the Christie's auction, spending 100 percent more than the high-end presale estimate for the piece. According to Bloomberg News, Graff confirmed the acquisition by e-mail.

Russian billionaires got back into the game, as well, and they exercised better judgment than they did during the art boom, when prices for artists such as Damien Hirst were propelled to absurd levels.

The Impressionist sector has held on rather well, by comparison. "The market for Impressionist and modern art hasn't been as frothy and speculative as contemporary," said Guy Jennings, partner in the London-based dealership Theobald Jennings. "Last year, prices might have slipped five or 10 percent, but since then there's been some asset inflation. That might not be the case in six months' time if there's a double-dip recession."

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, ArtMarket, auction-house, china, Christies, ChristiesAuction, ChristiesAuctionHouse, giacometti, Pablo Picasso, PabloPicasso, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, russia, RussianBillionaires, Sotheby, sothebys

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What Happened to Damien Hirst?

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

In 2008, an astounding 65 pieces by Damien Hirst fetched seven-figures each at auction. The total came to $230 million. The numbers are nothing short of staggering, especially when you compare it to what he did six years earlier, when the annual total for his work hit a mere $2 million. Clearly, some excitement was generated, and art collectors rode the wave. The last major sale was conducted at Sotheby's on September 15 and 16. "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever," as it was called, made a killing for the hottest living artist ... right before the financial world went to straight to hell. This bold move, however, led to a period of silence for the artist and stagnation for his collectors.

Shortly after the mortgage market mayhem became a global financial affair, unsold rates for Hirst's work shot from 11 percent to 55 percent by the end of the year. A mere 12 months after his he emptied the insides of his head -- not to mention plenty of inventory -- prices for Hirst's work returned to 2004 levels. A year after buying "Butterfly" painting "I Miss You" in late October 2008, Christie's unloaded it for a mere $450,000, only half what it had paid. In 2004, the piece's initial auction price was $415,000. I suspect this is at least part of the reason why the auction houses backed away from guaranteed minimum pricing ...

With the books closed on 2009, only two pieces by Hirst pierced the million dollar mark, both from the "Butterfly" series. "Tranquility" brought in $1.5 million back in May at an auction in Hong Kong. Almost half a year later, "The Importance of Elsewhere-The Kingdom of Heave" brought in close to $2 million, again at a Hong Kong auction. Both sales came from Seoul, not the usual New York and London communities.

Tags: art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, artist, Artists, ArtMarket, auction, auction house, auction houses, AuctionHouse, AuctionHouses, auctions, Christies, damien hirst, DamienHirst, Hong Kong, HongKong, Sotheby, sothebys

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High Hopes for London Art Auctions

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The London art auctions are upon us, and a year has made a hell of a difference. The auctions at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips de Pury are expected to fetch at least $104 million, which would be an increase of 68 percent over the same season in 2009. If the houses can pull this off, the art market will probably breathe a collective sigh of relief after more than a year of downright awful results.

At this point last year, the art market was in miserable shape. It was already in trouble, as the recession had begun to crystallize over the summer of 2008, a process which was hardened by the financial market meltdown in September. By the end of the year, prices had plummeted, and the practice of guaranteed minimum pricing had generally been abandoned.

By the end of 2009, signs of a recovery began to emerge, though few were willing to commit to it. A few pieces, such as Andy Warhol's "200 One Dollar Bills" turned in strong performances, but nothing was solid enough to call a trend. Nonetheless, hopes are high for the next round of sales, which will include museum-caliber paintings by Peter Doig and Yves Klein. Shown at right is Andy Warhol's Dollar Sign estimated at $1,950,000 - $2,925,000 at Christie's London Post War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction on February 11.

Tags: andy warhol, AndyWarhol, art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, Artists, ArtMarket, artwork, auction house, auction houses, AuctionHouse, AuctionHouses, basquiat, Christies, damien hirst, DamienHirst, england, jean-michel basquiat, Jean-michelBasquiat, Jeff Koons, JeffKoons, london, lucian freud, LucianFreud, peter doig, PeterDoig, phillips de pury, PhillipsDePury, sothebys, yves klein, YvesKlein

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Hirst and Koons Plunged, Collectors Regrouping

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Two of the biggest names in the art boom – which ended unceremoniously over the summer of 2008 – have seen their works fall by half this year. Pieces by Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons, the hottest works under the gavel through the beginning of 2008, could take as much as 10 years for prices to recover.

With the art market in turmoil this year, the contemporary segment suffered, and art collectors steered clear of some of the riskier artists on the market, which included Koons and Hirst. Instead, they turned to Art Deco furniture and pieces from the Old Masters and China, which appeared prominently among the top 10 auction performers this year.

Hirst and Koons still outperformed the contemporary art sector, which fell 75percent overall, thanks in large part to the auction houses' abandoning of guaranteed minimum prices.

According to Artprice, the art auction market surged by a factor of 10 from 2003 to 2008, with its price index for works by Hirst up 996 percent for the 10-year period ending in September 2008, with his "Beautiful Inside My Head Forever" event.

So, now may be the time to snatch up Hirst and Koons. It may take a decade for these artists to see their prices recover, but they did pretty well over the past 10 years.

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Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, ArtMarket, collector, collectors, damien hirst, DamienHirst, Jeff Koons, JeffKoons

Old Masters Expected to Set Records at Sotheby's and Christie's

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Christie's and Sotheby's aren't being shy with the Old Masters. Pieces by Rembrandt, Raphael and Van Dyck are being offered at hefty prices, some records, that could bring in up to $133 million. If this happens, art collectors will have doubled last year's result ... and cast a strong vote in favor of an art market recovery.

The Christie's sale on Tuesday will include a portrait by Rembrandt and a sketch by Raphael. They are being estimated at 18 million pounds and 12 million pounds, respectively. According to Christie's, these are the highest estimates seen at auction, says Bloomberg News. The Sotheby's sale occurs on Tuesday, featuring a Van Dyck portrait that could fetch as much as 3 million pounds.

Unlike the volatile market for contemporary art, prices for the Old Masters have been relatively stable, as the supply is diminishing and demand is increasing.

According to Johnny van Haeften, an art dealer based in London, told Bloomberg News, "Prices at auction are very strong because there isn't much out there." He continues, "People don't want to sell at the moment. They're saying, 'If I let a painting go, where do I put the money? I'd rather keep it in a work of art.'" He bid unsuccessfully for two still life pieces by 17th century Dutch painter Adriaen Coorte. Both ultimately sold for more than 10 times their high-end presale estimates.

[Photo via Christie's]

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Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, Artists, ArtMarket, artwork, auction, auction-house, auctions, Christies, Old Masters, OldMasters, rembrandt, Sotheby, sothebys