Top iPhone Apps for Art Collectors – artmarketblog.com

Top iPhone Apps for Art Collectors – artmarketblog.com

Several art related companies and institutions have taken advantage of the revolution that is the Apple iPhone, and released apps that make buying, browsing and finding out about works of art possible anywhere, anytime. Below are my top iPhone Apps for art collectors and investors.

Artfact.com iPhone App

Why waste your valuable time searching hundreds of old auction house catalogs and websites for auction price results, when you can find everything you need all in one easy-to-use service?
Artfact is the world’s largest and most comprehensive online auction price guide, delivering over 55 million price results for fine art, decorative art, antiques and collectibles all sold at auction.

-Browse over 100,000 upcoming live auction items
-Research over half a million auction price results
-Place confidential absentee bids on upcoming lots
-Receive email alerts if you are outbid
-Share your favorite items via Facebook or email

Available free of charge from the iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/artfact-live-auctions/id340245009?mt=8

Invaluable.com iPhone App

Invaluable Live! is the world’s premiere live auction bidding platform, enabling collectors and dealers around the globe to bid online in real-time on over 100,000 upcoming items for sale at auction. More than 150 traditional, international auction houses host their auctions exclusively on the Invaluable Live! platform.

-Browse over 100,000 upcoming live auction items
-Research over half a million auction price results
-Place confidential absentee bids on upcoming lots
-Receive email alerts if you are outbid
-Share your favorite items via Facebook or email

Available free of charge from the iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/invaluable-live-auctions/id343664441?mt=8

Christie’s iPhone App

When you are on the run, Christie’s iPhone application allows you to browse over 450 auctions in over 80 categories including all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photographs, collectibles, wine, and more from the palm of your hand. With a touch of a finger, you can also review auction results and learn how to buy and sell with Christie’s.

* Email a lot to a friend
* Discover how to buy and sell with Christie’s or more about our Private Sale services
* Explore over 80 Specialist Departments
* Get directions to and locate our salerooms across the globe using Google maps
* Show your passion for fine art, jewelry, decorative arts and more with one of our downloadable wallpapers
* Learn about the history of the the world’s first fine art auctioneers, and about our company today

Available from iTunes App Store
http://www.christies.com/on-the-go/iphone/

Saffron Art iPhone App

Key features of the application include a color-coded bid status indicator, proxy bidding capabilities, as well as information on current bid amounts, bid histories and post-auction results. Users can also preview the entire auction catalogue, with such lot details as size, surface, medium, estimates and images, searching by lot number, artist or designer name, material or type

Available from iTunes App Store
http://www.saffronart.com/sitepages/Mobile-Auction/iPhone.aspx

LiveAuctioneers.com iPhone App

Anyone with this application loaded onto their iPhone will have instant access to any auction catalog listed on LiveAuctioneers and can even log in and leave absentee bids through our Secure Bidder Network (SBN). With SBN functionality, which is unique to LiveAuctioneers, your absentee bid is kept private and unknown to anyone until auction day, when the bid is executed. Additionally, the new iPhone app enables the user to share auction lots with others via e-mail and to access more than 4 million fully illustrated auction results from past sales conducted through LiveAuctioneers

Another bonus feature of LiveAuctioneers’ iPhone app is its exclusive direct connection to Auction Central News (www.auctioncentralnews.com), the leading online source for news about auctions, antiques and fine art.

Available from iTunes App Store
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/iPhoneApp

Heritage Auctions iPhone App

Heritage Auctions has announced the launch of a mobile version of its award-winning Website, http://www.HA.com. Collectors now have the opportunity to search for, view and bid on any lot in any current Heritage auction from most any mobile device with a web browser from anywhere in the world where there’s Web service.

Available from iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/heritage-auctions/id346185455?mt=8

Artnear iPhone App

Artnear is the first global guide to art for the iphone platform. Find top galleries and museums around the world. Browse and see images of current shows, openings and more.

Available from iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/artnear/id320653064?mt=8

Seoul Auction iPhone App

Check what’s happening with Korea’s leading art auction house

Available from iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/seoulauction/id345138823?mt=8

Saatchi Magazine iPhone App

Art News, views, reviews, interviews, essays by the world’s leading writers, critics and curators on art and artists, weekly openings and more…

Available from iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/saatchi-magazine/id341552232?mt=8

Louvre iPhone App

The Musee du Louvre in Paris has recently launched its own iPhone application, offering a virtual experience of the world’s largest museum. Users can view some of the Louvre’s most famous items, such as the Mona Lisa and St. Mary Magdalene, and take a virtual tour of the museum’s historic buildings. As well as virtual guides, the app also offers tourist information about the museum, such as opening times and visitor maps.

Available from iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/id337339103?mt=8

National Gallery London iPhone App

The National Gallery is offering art lovers the opportunity to put works by Leonardo and Van Gogh in their pocket. A new application, called Love Art, allows iPhone and iTouch users to explore 250 of the Gallery’s best-loved paintings in the palm of their hand.

Take an unforgettable journey around the National Gallery. Zoom in to explore fine details and enjoy over three hours of video and audio content.

You can listen to the stories behind the masterpieces in insightful interviews with artists, writers and experts including:

* National Gallery Director Nicholas Penny
* Dramatist Robin Brooks
* Artist Maggie Hambling
* Author Tracy Chevalier

Available from the iTunes App Store
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/love-art-national-gallery-london/id314566159?mt=8

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

The Spectacle of the Art Market Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

The Spectacle of the Art Market Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

One of the interesting trends that has been particularly noticable during the recent current art market correction is that works that have less visual impact and are not as flamboyant are experiencing competitive bidding and high prices. Works of art that would perhaps have been overshadowed by their more visually stunning siblings are now coming to the forefront as collectors and connoisseurs approach what is on offer from a more scholarly, connoisseurial and art historical perspective. I also believe that the more sombre mood caused by the financial crisis has made people less likely to purchase overtly cheerful works of art and more likely to obtain objects that reflect the more philosophical and reflective mood that many people are currently experiencing.

When the global economy has gone to the dogs, and a large number of people are in a financially difficult position, the purchase of those shiny works of art that are typically seen as status symbols and flamboyantly excessive trophies of one’s wealth just doesn’t seem right. One may expect the opposite situation to arise where people purchase bright and cheerful works of art to make themselves happier, but this just doesn’t seem to be what happens. It seems that it is extremely difficult to justify the purchase of one of many of these “bright and shiny” trophies when one’s financial situation comes into question, which suggests that the purchase of such a work would be a bad investment (as we know so many of them are).

The contemporary art market tends to rely on immediate visual impact and instant gratification to entice people to get out their wallets. With so many artists vying for the attention and patronage of a relatively small number of collectors and investors it is not surprising that the visual impact and attractiveness of an artist’s work becomes such an important factor. The Frieze art fair is a good example of the way an artist’s work looks can have a major effect on its ability to get noticed. Not unlike a supermarket, the Frieze art fair is filled with aisle after aisle of products vying for the attention of the waves of shoppers that pass by. The dizzying array of goods on offer means that it is very easy for a particular atist’s work to get lost in the crowd. And many do. In such an environment it is undoubtedly beneficial for an artist to present their most high impact and visually stunning work as anyone who has visited a fair such as Frieze would know.

To suggest that the path that the art market can be affected to such a degree by the instinctual human attraction to bright shiny objects may sound bizarre at first but if you take some time to ponder the concept I think you will find it is not as silly as it may seem.

To be continued……….

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

Artprice Launches My Art Collection – artmarketblog.com

Artprice Launches My Art Collection – artmarketblog.com

Artprice has just announced the launch My Art Collection, the first free and confidential art portfolio management service. This service, now available to Artprice’s 1,300,000 subscribers is available as of today for professional or amateur art collectors anywhere in the world. http://web.artprice.com/portfolio/login.aspx

However much you spend on art, the value of your collection is evolving at an ever-faster pace as the art market becomes increasingly sensitive to economic and geopolitical events. With Artprice’s unique and free service My Art Collection, you can follow the value evolution of your collection as a whole with regular revaluations for each of the works in the portfolio.

Using a simple tool that takes full advantage of Artprice’ knowledge in the sector as world leader in art market information, collectors can follow the financial value of their works and their portfolios at just a glance.

This exclusive service enables Artprice subscribers to take full advantage of their immediate access to Artprice’s leading standardised marketplace and to buy or sell elements in their collections in reaction to market fluctuations.

Moreover, in just a couple of clicks, Artprice subscribers can access the pay-service Artpricing: within 48 hours, our analysts (art historians, professionals and econometricians) can provide updated valuation of works. Artprice subscribers can also access the Artprice databases which contain more than 25 million auction results, indices and price statistics for over 405,000 artists.

In addition, this portfolio valuation service will give our subscribers access to online insurance services with quotes calculated in real time by Artprice and its art insurance partners, thereby accelerating the notion of an immediate financial guarantee of their works.

The art market is increasingly reactive. Its principal players are seeking fast and reliable information. My Art Collection by Artprice(R) is today the perfect tool to provide art collectors with the kind of economic information they need. Accessible to all Artprice subscribers, My Art Collection by Artprice is a service that scrupulously respects the confidentiality of its users and protects all personal and private information.

Since 1987, Artprice’s econometrics department has been developing index calculation algorithms based on Artprice’s unique skills and databases. These indices and indicators are today the reference on the art market and have made Artprice the global leader in art market information.

The econometrics department uses its skills to create innovative tools that greatly enhance the transparency of the art market. The Art Market Confidence Index (the reference indicator measuring the confidence of art market professionals) and the Art Price Global Indices (price indices calculated on the basis of 25 million auction results worldwide) are just two such products that are today absolutely indispensable for those wishing to gauge the health of the market.

In 2009, despite a financial and economic crisis that all major institutions agree is of historic proportions, the Art Market Confidence Index – which reflects the views and expectations of its 1,300,000 subscribers in real-time – shows a substantial correction of art market prices; but the instrument itself has contributed to greater overall confidence in the market, particularly with respect to liquidity and acquisition timing. So far, the data from Artprice’s standardised marketplace has indeed been entirely coherent with the AMCI. http://web.artprice.com/amci/

Source: http://www.artprice.com (c)1987-2009 thierry Ehrmann

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.