Sold to Richard Green – artmarketblog.com

Sold to Richard Green – artmarketblog.com

Thomas Gainsborough R.A., A Pug, oil on canvas

While browsing through the top results of recent auctions, as provided by Sotheby’s through their press releases, I came across something that I don’t see to often – the identity of a buyer listed in the release. Usually under the heading “Buyer” there is an indication of what sort of buyer they are and sometimes where they are from. Examples of the usual identities given to buyers are: UK Private, UK Trade, Private European Collector, London Trade or, as is often the case, a buyer is listed as anonymous. I continued perusing the press releases when I came across another with the same buyer once again identified as having purchased a painting that had achieved one of the ten highest prices of the auction. The buyer in question was the very well known London art dealer Richard Green who dabbles in everything from 17th century Old Masters to 20th century British art but is best known for his dealings in Old Master paintings.

In a market where a high level of discretion is the norm for both buyers and sellers it is interesting that a dealer in Old Master paintings, of all people, would be so transparent with their dealings. It makes sense though that if you are a dealer and want to sell a painting that having your name on the press release identifying you as the successful bidder would not only advertise your business but attract potential buyers. This tactic seems to be working quite well for Mr. Green whose business seems to be fairing extremely well in the current climate. There is, however, more to the story of Richard Green and his success as an art dealer. Much more in fact. To start with, the two works that I said were listed by Sotheby’s as having been purchased by Mr. Green are rather revealing. The first painting was purchased on the 9th of July from the Sotheby’s Early British Paintings sale and was an oil on canvas by Thomas Gainsborough titled “A Pug”. Listed with an estimate of 100,000-150,000 pounds, “A Pug” was purchased by Green for £993,250 (including premium) which, other than being more then six times the high estimate, was the highest price of the auction. The second work was a painting by Herbert Olivier titled “Summer Is Icumen In” which Green purchased  from Sotheby’s July 15 Victorian & Edwardian Art sale. He paid for 331,250 pounds against an estimate of 80,000—120,000 pounds estimate – a new record for the artist at auction and the third highest price of the sale.

Richard Green is known for identifying then purchasing works of art that he, as a results of his research, has identified as being undervalued. In fact, there are many reports of Green uncovering hidden gems which he then manages to on-sell for many times more than he paid for them. Both “A Pug” and “Summer Is Icumen In” were purchased by Green for well above the high estimate which suggests that Green identified these two works as being undervalued. One thing is for sure, he would not have paid what he did for these two works unless he was confident that they would appeal to his wealthy clientele and that he would be able to make a profit from them. Exactly what Green knows about these two paintings that makes them so much more valuable than the estimate provided by Sotheby’s I do not know. What I do know is that the research Green does, and his scholarly knowledge of the art he deals in, has played a major role in his success. One of the smartest dealers around if you ask me.

**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.

Niki de Saint Phalle Braves the Crisis – artmarketblog.com

Niki de Saint Phalle Braves the Crisis – artmarketblog.com

After the sale of three Niki de Saint-Phalle’s giant Nanas in Germany in December 2008 for €750,000, the Paris sale last month of her Le Banc produced another excellent result. The French-American artist – whose works are collected all over the world – is generating good sales performances in spite of the crisis.

Born in France and raised in the United States, Niki SAINT-PHALLE de successfully steered her career under the two flags at a key moment in the history of art and of the art market. Indeed, at the start of the 60s – when Niki de Saint-Phalle was creating her first Tirs and Nanas – the art market’s centre of gravity was being pulled across the Atlantic towards the United States and the American Pop Art phenomenon. Niki, who was associated with the New Realists in France, created the most distinctly “Pop” works of the French movement using a playful iconography of curves and colours. By successfully establishing herself as a female artist on both sides of the Atlantic, Niki de Saint-Phalle managed to join the ranks of artists whose price-indices enjoy international recognition (unlike some of the other New Realists, including her partner Jean TINGUELY). Nevertheless, the market for her work has remained more dynamic in France, and 35% of her auction sales take place in her native country. In terms of sales revenue, the geographical breakdown of her auction sales (often involving monumental pieces) is as follows: 38% in France, 31% in the UK and 15% in the United States.

Her Nanas – buxom women made with fibres glass and painted in bright colours – easily reach and exceed the estimate. Niki created her first Nanas in papier mâché and fibre in 1965, inspired by a friend’s pregnancy. Initially uncoloured, her joyous Venuses soon acquired multi-coloured surfaces – leading a playful revolution against gloominess. The very large and unique pieces – including some of her later works produced from the 1990s – sell for over €100,000. Her best-ever auction result was generated by a giant Nana (270 cm) in painted polyester which fetched $1m (nearly €780,000) at Sotheby’s in New-York during the sale of the Vanthohournot Collection on 14 November 2006. Two years before this record, a Nana of the same dimensions fetched €360,000 in Paris (Sotheby’s, 18 July 2004 La vie en rose – La danseuse rose).

The price range for the Nanas is very broad because Niki made them in various different sizes and sometimes produced limited editions of the same piece. For a small Nana from the 1960s (less than 30 cm), one would expect to pay between €15,000 and €30,000. Indeed, a Mini nana acrobate of 20 cm doubled its price estimate in Paris last month when it sold for €26,000. With strong demand for her work already developing during her lifetime, Niki de Saint-Phalle decided to make her work available to a broader public by producing prints and small porcelain Nanas edited in 200 copies, some of which can be acquired at auctions for around €3,000 (one such piece recently fetched €2,800 at Venator & Hanstein in Cologne).

The price index for her sculpture-furniture is also regaining momentum. On 27 May 2009, a sculpture of a man reading a newspaper on a bench watched by an imaginary animal entitled Le Banc (1 of 3 copies) fetched €460,000, substantially more than its estimated value. The fact that the piece was presented at Christie’s sale of a collection of pieces by François-X. & Claude LALANNE – hybrid works on the cusp of art and design – undoubtedly contributed to the result: the high number of furniture-sculpture pieces at the sale and the good results for the Lalanne works was the perfect context for the sale of the Saint-Phalle work.

Copyright@Artprice.com

**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.

1700 Times Estimate at Brunk Auctions – artmarketblog.com

1700 Times Estimate at Brunk Auctions – artmarketblog.com

"The Plasterers" by John Koch

Smaller auction houses rarely get the sort of attention given to the big four auction houses which is a shame because the smaller auction houses produce their fair share of exciting results and top sales.  Brunk Auctions, a North Carolina based auction house that sells fine and decorative arts as well as collectibles, ephemera and jewellery, recently had the sale of their lives when two seemingly ordinary pieces of Chinese ceramics sold at their May 9-10, 2009 Auction for what can only be described as astonishingly high prices.  The first piece, a Chinese famille rose vase described as a 20th century copy of a Qianlong period (1736-1795) piece, had been purchased from a yard sales by it’s owner and was given an estimate of $400 – $800.  At the fall of the hammer this apparently cheap knock off had sold for an incredible $1,075,000 or more than 1790 times mid estimate.  Obviously several people knew something about this piece that the owner and Brunk Auctions didn’t.  The next item was a Chinese decorated jar described as an 18th or 19th century copy of a Jialing period (1522-1566) piece and was given an estimate of $600 – $1,200. Once again the price headed north at a rapid rate finally settling at a dizzying $60,000 once again suggesting that several people knew something about this piece that the owner and Brunk Auctions didn’t.

Plenty of other items soared past their estimate at the same auction such as the Jean Dubuffet “Tapis” wool-pile carpet weave tapestry which sold for $11,000 against an estimate of $2000-$3000 and a Tamara de Lempicka print titled “Femme a la Mandoline” which made $10,500 against an estimate of $4,000 – $8,000. The high price for the de Lempicka print is likely to have been influenced by the new auction for the artist’s work set at Christie’s on the 6th of May as well as the number of other excellent results for the artist’s work sold at auction recently. Although selling for a price within the estimate a spectacular major work by the American Realist John Koch called “The Plasterers” sold for $210,000 against a $175,000 – $250,000 estimate which was still a good result. A revival in the interest of classical style sculpture is sure to have been a factor in the results for a marble bust of Prince Borghesi whcih trippled its high estimate selling for $12,000.

The following Brunk auction held on the 30th of May which included the collection of Florence and Bill Griffin produced some more outstanding results proving that smaller auction houses are capable of playing with the big boys. Art wise, two portraits by American folk artist Edwin B. Smith were highlights of the auction selling for well above their high estimate. The first, a portrait of Robert Ransome Billups sold for $80,000 against an estimate of $30,000 – $50,000 and the second, a portrait of Elizabeth Ware Fullwood sold for $36,000 against an estimate of $12,000 – $18,000. Edwin B. Smith is not a particularly well known or highly regarded artist on the world stage but is a very important artist to the area of Georgia, USA which was the theme of the auction and the home town of Florence and Bill Griffin. Furniture from the Georgia region also sold extremely well with the highlight being a fine Georgia paint-decorated cellaret or liquor stand which sold for $105,000 against an estimate of $30,000 – $50,000.

The internet has given smaller auction houses the ability to operate on a national or international level as is the case with Brunk Auctions who use liveauctioneers.com to accept online bids and promote their sales.  I am often surprised by the quality and rarity of the items that are sold by the smaller auction houses and would encourage everyone to take a greater interest in the smaller national and regional auction houses that operate in their area.  The advantage the smaller national and regional auction houses have over the big four is that they are more likely to come across those surprise objects that the owner does not know the value of or realise the significance of.  People who own very valuable works of art and know the value of those works of art are more likely to go to one of the big auction houses whereas someone who has no idea what an item they own is worth is more likely to take that item to a local auction house.  The moral of the story is that smaller auction houses are well worth keeping an eye on.

For more information see http://www.brunkauctions.com

**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.

Helping Humble Arts and Supporting MOCP – artmarketblog.com

Help Humble Arts and Support the MOCP – artmarketblog.com

Stein, Amy $300.00 Hillside from the series Domesticated, 2007 C-print 11 x 13 3/4 inches on 14 x 16.75 inch paper Edition of 50. Available from the MoCP

The financial crisis has undoubtedly had a significant effect on the arts especially those non-profit organisations that are the backbone of the art world. Many non-profit art organisations have funding programs that involve the sale of works of art so why not help support the arts and take advantage of some of the bargains currently available. The Humble Arts Foundation is a well known not-for-profit organisation that works to advance the careers of emerging fine art photographers. Like many other arts organisations, the Humble Arts Foundation is doing it tough. There are two ways you can help the Humble Arts Foundation. The first involves making a tax deductable donation of $15 or more which, if 3500 people obliged, would give Humble enough funds to continue supporting and exhibiting the work of emerging art photographers through 2012. The second way you can help support Humble is by purchasing one of their fantastic limited edition prints. To sweeten the deal a discount of 30% is available to those who use the code HAF30 which makes the Humble prints even better value.

To make a donation go here:
https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/1138

or to view the available prints go here:
http://humbleartsfoundation.org/editions/index.html

Another photography related organisation that I’m sure would love your support is the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. According to their website the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) is the only museum in the Midwest with an exclusive commitment to the medium of photography. By presenting projects and exhibitions that embrace a wide range of contemporary aesthetics and technologies, the Museum strives to communicate the value and significance of photographic images as expressions of human thought, imagination, and creativity. The MoCP recently launched their 2009 series of fine photographic prints which includes works by Amy Stein and Michael Wolf. To see all the fantastic prints available check out:
http://mocp.org/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11
**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.

Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

A few weeks ago I posted the first half of the results from the Christie’s February 2009 Impressionist and Modern Art auction along with information relating to whether each lot had been sold at auction previously and if it had, when it was sold and how much it sold for. My purpose for doing this is to show that there is always far more to art auction results than the statistics provided by the auction houses will tell you. Just because an auction results in a high hammer total, high percentage of lots sold by value and a high percentage of lost sold by number doesn’t mean that the auction was a complete success. The statistics that the auction houses provides could be masking the fact that a majority of the works sold in the auction had been sold at auction before for a higher amount meaning that the people selling these works were selling at a loss. Although the purpose of the auction house is to sell works of art and not to ensure people make a profit on the works they are selling; the factors that may be beyond the control of the auction house, such as whether a person makes a profit or not, should still be used as a measure of the success of an auction. In the next post in this series I will look at the data I have provided in this and the previous post and provide an analysis of the data.

See part 1 of Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction here:

http://artmarketblog.com/2009/02/17/dissecting-christies-feb-09-art-auction-pt-1-artmarketblogcom/

Continuation of data relating to lots sold at the Christie’s February 09 Impressionist and Modern Art auction:

-Otto Mueller (1874-1930) Sitzender Akt in Landschaft, c.1927: Sold for £769,250 ($1,106,182) against an estimate of £650,000 – £850,000 ($926,250 – $1,211,250). No previous auction sale history

-Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) Dame en face mit plisiertem Kleid (Damenbildnis en face) , c. 1898: Sold for £1,385,250 ($1,991,990) against an estimate of £600,000 – £800,000 ($855,000 – $1,140,000). Previously sold by Christie’s on the 9th of November 2004 for USD$1,000,000 (GBP 524,700) against an estimate of USD$750,000 – 950,000 which represents an increase in price of $991,990

-Marino Marini (1901-1980) Gentiluomo a cavallo, c. 1937: Sold for £769,250 ($1,106,182) against an estimate of £700,000 – £1,000,000 ($997,500 – $1,425,000). No previous auction sale history

-Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967) Torse de femme, c. 1925: Sold for £421,250 ($605,758) against an estimate of £300,000 – £500,000 ($427,500 – $712,500). No previous auction sale history

-Marc Chagall (1887-1985) Les mariés aux deux bouquets, c. 1980: Sold for £541,250 ($778,318) against an estimate of £400,000 – £600,000 ($570,000 – $855,000). No previous auction sale history

-Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Buste d’homme, 1971: Sold for £1,497,250 ($2,153,046) against an estimate of £1,200,000 – £1,800,000 ($1,710,000 – $2,565,000). No previous auction sale history

-Max Ernst (1891-1976) Temptation of St. Anthony, 1945: Sold for £97,250 ($139,846) against an estimate of £100,000 – £150,000 ($142,500 – $213,750). No previous auction sale history

-Julio González (1876-1942) Le rêve (Le baiser) 4/6, c. 1934: Sold for £577,250 ($830,086) against an estimate of £400,000 – £600,000 ($570,000 – $855,000). Number 5 of the edition of 6 was sold by Christie’s in 2002 for GBP 220,000 against an estimate of GBP 250,000 – 350,000 which represents a theoretical increase in value of GBP 377,000.

-André Masson (1896-1987) Le météore, 1939: Sold for £169,250 ($243,382) against an estimate of £120,000 – £180,000 ($171,000 – $256,500). No previous auction sale history.

-Joan Miró (1893-1983) Femme entendant chanter le coq aux éclats violets, 1972: Sold for £892,450 ($1,283,343) against an estimate of £500,000 – £700,000 ($712,500 – $997,500). No previous auction sale history.

-Paul Delvaux (1897-1994) Faubourg, 1956: Sold for £277,250 ($398,686) against an estimate of £200,000 – £300,000 ($285,000 – $427,500). Previously sold by Sotheby’s in 1975 – price unknown

-Francis Picabia (1879-1953) Geminis, 1936: Sold for £385,250 ($553,990) against an estimate of £120,000 – £180,000 ($171,000 – $256,500). Previously offered for sale at Christie’s Paris in May 2008 but failed to on an estimate of EUR 250,000 – 350,000. Previously sold by Sotheby’s in 1975 – price unknown.

-Joan Miró (1893-1983) Personnage, 1976: Sold for £481,250 ($692,038) against an estimate of £280,000 – £380,000 ($399,000 – $541,500). Previously sold by Sotheby’s in February 2004 for GBP 172,000 against an estimate of GBP 150,000 – 200,000 which represents an increase in price of GBP 309,000.

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.

YSL Collection Boosts French Market Share – artmarketblog.com

YSL Auction Boosts French Market Share – artmarketblog.com

The Bergé -YSL sale was a historical sale in more than one sense: the €373.5m total for the three-day auction is the world record for a private collection and the European record for an art sale of any sort. Moreover, the collection’s Fine Art generated a sum equivalent to 66.7% of total 2008 art auction sales in Paris and 53.2% of total French art auction revenue in 2008. Indeed, this total of €206m ($264.9m) for art works (excluding antiques, furniture and objects) could well modify the 2009 global auction revenue ranking by allowing France to recover the third place it has lost to China since 2007.

The first session of Christie’s Bergé – YSL sale opened on 23 February just as Wall Street posted its lowest level for 12 years (S&P 500 at 743.33 points). Despite the economic and financial alarm bells, Artprice’s AMCI suggested strong buy intentions from art market players (70.8% of respondents). These intentions were confirmed on the first day of Impressionist and Modern art sales which generated a total of €182m, a figure substantially higher than the previous world record for a private collection sale: €163,6m from the Victor and Sally Ganz collection in 1997 at Christie’s New York.

By the end of the evening on Monday 23 February, Christie’s had generated a number of new records for works by the grand masters of Modern art. These included €32m for Henri MATISSE’s Les Coucous, €26m (€6m above its estimate) for Constantin BRANCUSI’s sculpture Madame L.R., €7.9m (pulverising its “under-estimate” of €1.5m) for Marcel DUCHAMP’s historic ready-made Belle haleine-Eau de voilette, €19.2m for Piet MONDRIAAN’s Composition avec bleu, rouge, jaune et noir and €4.4m for James ENSOR’s Le Désespoir de Pierrot.

However, the overall prestige of the sale and the ownership history of the works did not trigger a “buy at any price” mood and collectors remained highly selective. Pablo PICASSO’s cubist painting, over-estimated at €25m, and four paintings by Théodore GÉRICAULT with high reservation prices remained unsold. Another Géricault masterpiece, Portrait d’Alfred et d’Elisabeth Dedreux, set a new record for the artist at €8m, refreshing a previous record dating back to 1989 when Portrait de Laure Bro, née de Comères fetched the equivalent of €4.9m at Sotheby’s in Monaco.

The exceptional quality of the collection attracted the attention of the French State which exercised its pre-emption rights three times on the first day, acquiring Giorgio CHIRICO de’s Ritornante for the Centre Pompidou, Édouard VUILLARD’s Les Lilas and James ENSOR’s Au conservatoire for the Musée d’Orsay. Total bill: €10.6m, excluding fees. Over the following two days, it intervened twice acquiring a miniature portrait of Louis XIV by Petitot and some XVI century wall plates in Limoges enamel for the Louvre.

This sale suggests that the art market is showing remarkable resistance to the financial crisis and the global economic recession… as long as the works offered are of exceptional quality.

Copyright@Artprice.com

**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 YSL Art Collection Sale – artmarketblog.com

The YSL Art Collection Sale – artmarketblog.com

For at least six months, the sale of the Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent collection has been the focus of much media attention, described as the “sale of the century”. At a time when The Art Market Confidence Index (AMCI) is firmly in the red, the means allocated to the sale of some 691 lots are commensurate with the works being presented: exceptional.

Pierre Bergé has chosen Christie’s to officiate and the Grand Palais de Paris as the stage for this prestigious sale. Under the monumental glass dome, this auction marathon will last three days (from 23 to 25 February 2009) with pieces from the Far-East, others dating back to Antiquity, numerous sculptures and works of art, works in gold and silver, enamels from the 16th century, drawings from the 19th century, works signed by the major names in Art Deco and numerous Old and Modern masterpieces. Some signatures seldom seen at public auctions will be offered including Ingres, Franz Hals, Jacques-Louis David and Géricault. Among the five Théodore GÉRICAULT works on offer is one of the most famous double portraits in the entire history of painting: that of Alfred and Elisabeth Dedreux. Christie’s is expecting €6m for this work, a figure that would refresh the previous Géricault record held since 1989 by Portrait de Laure Bro, née de Comères which fetched €4.9m at Sotheby’s in Monaco.

In the Modern Art category, there is a whole series of star names: Giacometti, Juan Gris, Vuillard, Paul Klee, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Edward Munch, Odilon Redon, the Douanier Rousseau, Seurat, Manet, Gustav Klimt, and more. The collection contains some truly historic pieces including an oak wood sculpture by Constantin BRANCUSI entitled Madame L.R. (Portrait de Mme L.R.). This rarity could well fetch more than Brancusi’s current record for Oiseau dans l’espace ($24.5m in 2005 at Christie’s) if it reaches its high estimate of €20m. Before it joined the Bergé / Saint Laurent collection (where Pierre Bergé like to show it alongside a Sénoufo sculpture), Madame L.R. belonged to Fernand Léger. Apart from its artistic qualities, the ownership background of this piece is an undoubted bonus. No less than six works by Fernand LÉGER will be offered for sale, including the impressive painting La tasse de thé, a hymn to 1921 modernity. Should the work reach its €15m target, it will be among the artist’s four most expensive hammer prices. The art market, which rarely sees Piet MONDRIAAN paintings at auctions nowadays, will be offered three “neoplastic” Compositions by the artist on the same day (estimated at between €5m and €10m). The paintings are large formats. Nothing larger than 50 cm has been seen at auction for five years. The most recently sold large format Mondrian painting, New York, Boogie Woogie (95.2 x 92 cm) fetched $18.75m (€14.6m) at Sotheby’s NY in 2004. Christie’s expects to generate even more from a superb cubist work by Pablo PICASSO, Musical Instruments on a Pedestal Table (estimated at €25m to €30m).

Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent did not collect works of contemporary art, preferring to focus on historical works that represent the opening of the 20th century to contemporary art. One such work is Belle haleine – Eau de voilette, a ready-made bottle on which Marcel DUCHAMP appears dressed up as Rrose Sélavy from a photograph by Man Ray. This emblematic work is estimated at €1m to 1.5m.

Copyright@Artprice.com

**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.

Evaluating Art Auction Results Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

Evaluating Art Auction Results Pt. 2 – artmarketblog.com

In Evaluating Art Auction Results Pt. 1 (see here) I began to take an in depth look at how people interpret auction results and exactly what it is that determines whether an art auction has been a success or not. Continuing on from that post I want to take a closer look at the different statistics that are used to determine whether an art auction has been a success or not and exactly what each of those statistics can tell us. I will conduct this analysis over several posts as the whole subject of art auction statistics is rather more complex and complicated than it would appear to be.

1. Percentage of lots sold by number:

The total number of works sold compared to the total number of works offered for sale is a widely used statistic that can be useful when analysing an auction but only when compared with statistics from similar auctions or, when the difference between the two auctions being compared is taken into account. By a similar auction I mean an auction that has a similar number of lots, the same type of art, estimates of a similar range and works of a similar price range. Just looking at the sold by lot percentage of a single auction doesn’t really tell us much about how successful an auction was because there are a number of factors that are able to be manipulated by an auction house to alter the chances of selling a higher percentage of offered lots.  There are also other statistics that can result in two auctions with the same sold by lot percentage having different levels of success (or failure). As an example of the problems related to the use of the sold by lot percentage as a sole indicator of an auction’s success, if someone were to reach a conclusion that an auction which took place that had the following statistics (auction 1) was a huge success because of the high percentage of lots sold:

Statistics for auction 1 (2009)

Number of lots: 20
Sold by lot: 80%
Sold by value: 80%
Total value: $20,000,000

but this person had failed to look at the statistics for the same sale by the same auctioneer for the previous year (auction 2) which had the following statistics:

Statistics for auction 2 (2008)

Number of lots: 80
Sold by lot: 80%
Sold by value: 80%
Total value: $120,000,000

the person’s conclusion that auction one was a huge success would be questionable to say the least because although the percentage of lots sold is the same for both sales the previous year’s sale had a higher total and a higher average sale price. The significance of this is that an auction house is a business that has to make a certain amount of profit to continue operating and achieve a certain level of financial success to retain people’s confidence in the business. The auction house would have made more profit from the previous year’s sale even though the sold by lot rates were the same which means that from the auction houses point of view, the previous year’s sale would have been more successful because it made them more money.

By reducing the number of total lots being sold at an auction, reducing the estimates and limiting the works that are included in the auction to those that are most likely to sell, an auction house can reduce the likelihood of a low sold by lot percentage. This is exactly what has happened with the auctions that have taken place so far in 2009 as auction houses attempt to keep up appearances in a much more conservative and challenging market. So far this year there have been several sales that have achieved very good sold by lot percentages as a result of changes made by the auction houses to their auctions which I will discuss in more detail as this series of posts progresses.

The fact that it is virtually impossible to analyse one of the statistics without referring to another statistic suggests that there is an important relationship between the various different art auction statistics. Each of the different statistics can tell us something different about an auction but only when each of those statistics are analysed together and the results of that analysis viewed in the wide context of past results with the current market conditions taken into consideration.

There is no doubt that achieving a high sold by lot percentage is a positive achievement regardless of whether or not an auction house has altered a sale to increase the chances of better figures and regardless of whether the results from a comparable sale are better overall. It is important, however, to recognise that a high sold by lot percentage doesn’t necessarily mean that an auction was a massive success.  As I have shown above, art auction results are not as simple or as clear-cut as they may appear.

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.

Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

Dissecting Christie’s Feb 09 Art Auction Pt. 1 – artmarketblog.com

I am going to make a slight diversion from my previous post on evaluating art auction results (which will be continued very soon) because I want to take a bit more of an in depth look into the actual works that were included in the recent February round of Impressionist and Modern Art auctions to see what the sales can tell us about the art market and about the success of each sale. By looking at the sale history of each work, especially the very last time the work was sold, one can get a good idea about how the art market is tracking. I also believe that the statistics relating to whether the price paid for a work of art has increased or decreased since it was last sold should be used as an indication as to whether or not the sale was a success or not in the context of the current art market conditions but not as the sole indicator of whether or not the sale was a success in the context of the performance of the auction house.

The financial crisis is the primary cause of the decrease in prices although the prices being paid for art would not have had as far to fall had the auction houses not encouraged the continual inflation of prices. Because the auction houses are not directly responsible for the drop in prices and are not really able to do much to increase prices, the difference in price paid for works of art at current sales compared with past sales are not, on their own, a very good indicator of the success of the sale from the auction house’s point of view.  Auction houses have to sell works of art regardless of whether or not they are going to achieve a higher price than the last time the work was sold at auction.  If a vendor comes to them with a work to sell that is going to sell for a large amount of money but not as much as it sold for last time it was sold at auction it is most likely that the auction house will sell the work. Whether or not the price paid for a work at a current auction is higher or lower than when it was last sold is not that much of a concern for the auction houses because their focus is getting as much for a work of art as they can in the current market and not providing a return on investment for the vendor. Of course, the vendor will be much happier with the auction house if they do receive a decent return on their investment. What the difference in price data is good for is  providing a very good indication of the success of the sale in terms of the current art market conditions and also providing an indicator of the current state of the art market.   This data also provides valuable information relating to the type of works that are most likely to remain stable or increase during a financial crisis/art market correction.

The data that I have provided below is from the Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art sale that took place on the 4th of Febuary 2009. What I did was look at the auction sale history of every work that sold and recorded if the work had been previously sold at auction or not, and if so, what price was paid. Because there is a significant amount of data to present I will post the data in two separate posts and then provide an analysis of the data in a third post.  The first ten works listed are those that Christie’s highlighted as the ten highest prices paid for works at the auction and the rest are in lot order.  An analysis of the Sotheby’s Feburary Impressionist and Modern Art sale will be conducted for comparison at a later date.

Sold lots from Christie’s February 4 2009 Impressionist and Modern Art auction:

–Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), L’abandon (Les deux amies), 1895: This work sold for $8,917,398 (including buyers premium) against an estimate of $7,125,000 – $9,975,000 and was referred to by Christie’s as being one of the highlights of the sale. Prior to being in sold at the Feb 4 2009 Christie’s sale, the same work was sold by Sotheby’s in May of 2000 for $9,355,750 which means the price for this work dropped more than $400,000.

-Claude Monet (1840-1926), Dans la prairie, 1876: The top price of the Christie’s sale was achieved by Monet’s “Dans la prairie” which sold for $16,164,918. Last time this work was sold in 1999 by Sotheby’s it achieved $15,402,500 which means that the price for this work increased by $764,000.

-Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), Les deux filles, 1918: Offered at auction for first time after being in the same family since being purchased from the artist.  Sold for £6,537,250 against an estimate of £3,500,000 – £5,500,000

-Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940), Les couturiers, 1890: Sold for £6,537,250 against an estimate of £3.5-£5.5 million. No previous auction sale history

-Kees van Dongen (1877-1968), La cuirasse d’or, circa 1907: Sold for £2,617,250 against an estimate of £1.5 million-£2.5 million. No previous auction sale history

-Henry Moore (1898-1986), Reclining Mother and Child,conceived in 1960: Sold for £2,617,250 (US$3,763,606) against an estimate of £1,500,000 – £2,000,00 .  Previously sold by Christie’s in November 2002 for US$1,439,500 against an estimate of US$1,000,000 – $1,500,000 which represents an increase in price of US$2,300,00.

-Fernand Léger (1881-1955), Les deux soeurs, 1929: Sold for £1,900,000 (hammer price) against an estimate of £2,000,000 – £3,000,00. Previously sold by Loudmer (Paris) in 1990 for £1,231,263 (hammer price) which represents an increase in price of £669,000

-Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), Les dindons, Pont-Aven,1888: Sold for £2,057,250 (US$2,958,326) against an estimate of £2–3 million. Previously sold by Christie’s New York in 1998 for $2,862,500 which represents an increase in price of US$95,000

-Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941), Mädchen mit roter Schleife, 1911: Sold for £1,945,250 against an estimate of £1,800,000 – £2,500,000.  Previously sold by Christie’s in February 2008 for £2,932,500 which represents a decrease in price of £990,000 pounds

-Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941), Tanz mit gelbem Fächer, 1912: Sold for £1,833,250 against an estimate of £1,500,000 – £2,500,00.  No previous auction sale history

-Henri Laurens (1885-1954), La femme à la guitar, 1919: Sold for £713,250 against an estimate of £350,000 – £400,000. No previous auction sale history

-Egon Schiele (1890-1918), Stehende Frau mit Schuen und Strümpfen, 1913: Sold for £601,250 against an estimate of £550,000 – £750,000. No previous auction sale history

-Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Aquarell für Poul Bjerr, 1916: Sold for £433,250 against an estimate of £300,000 – £500,00.  Previously sold by Christie’s in February 2008 for £670,100 which represents a decrease in price of £236,000 pounds

-Kees van Dongen (1877-1968), Femme aux deux colliers: Sold for £1,329,250 against an estimate of £300,000 – £600,00. No previous auction sale history

-Kees van Dongen (1877-1968),  La gitane: Sold for £1,105,250 against an estimate of £500,000 – £1,000,000. No previous auction sale history

-Kees van Dongen (1877-1968),  La femme au collant vert, 1905: Sold for £1,105,250 against an estimate of £800,000 – £1,200,00.  Previously sold by Paris auctioneer Palais Galliéra in 1962, price unknown.

-Henry Moore (1898-1986), Family Group, 1945: Sold for £481,250 (US$692,038 ) against an estimate of £400,000 – £600,000 (US$570,000 – $855,000).  Previously sold by Christie’s New York on the 7th of May 2003 for US$400,250 against an estimate of USD 250,000 – 350,000 which represents an increase in price of US$291,000

-Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), Annette d’après nature: Sold for £937,250 against an estimate of £800,000 – £1,200,000. No previous auction sale history

-Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), La route de Marly-le-Roi, 1875: Sold for £825,250 against an estimate of £800,000 – £1,200,000. Previously sold by Christie’s in 2004 for £1463500 against an estimate of 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 and was offered for sale again at Christie’s in 2007 with an estimate of £1,600,000 – 2,400,000 but failed to sell. Using the 2004 sale statistics the price for this work dropped £600,000.

-Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), Bord de mer, sous les pins, 1924: Sold for £1,273,250 against an estimate of £1,200,000 – £1,600,000. Previously offered for sale at Christies in February 2005 with an estimate of £2,000,000 – 3,000,000 but failed to sell.

-Alfred Sisley (1839-1899), Vue de Moret, 1889: Sold for £385,250 against an estimate of £250,000 – £350,000. Previously sold by Christie’s in February 2008 for £446,100 against an estimate of £400,000 – 600,000 which represents a decrease in price of £60,000.

-Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), Clovis: Sold for £735,650 against an estimate of £550,000 – £850,000. No previous auction sale history

-Emil Nolde (1867-1956), Violette Blumen, 1907: Sold for £881,250 against an estimate of £600,000 – £900,000. No previous auction sale history

-Emil Nolde (1867-1956), Blaue Stiefmütterchen, 1908: Sold for £361,250 against an estimate of £250,000 – £350,000. No previous auction sale history

-Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), Drei Pferde (recto); Landschaft (verso), c.1923: Sold for £959,650 against an estimate of £300,000 – £500,000. No previous auction sale history

-Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), Steinbruch bei Wildboden, c.1923: Sold for £457,250 (US$657,526) against an estimate of £400,000 – £600,000 (US$570,000 – $855,000). Previously sold by Christie’s New York in 1991 for US$320,625 which represents an increase in price of $337,000

**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.

Photography Auction at iGavel – artmarkeblog.com

Photography Auction at iGavel – artmarkeblog.com

William Eggleston, Untitled (Reflectors), c. 1970's

As I have mentioned before, the great thing about iGavel auctions is that all the sellers are professionals and all the objects offered on the iGavel site are guaranteed for authenticity and condition. The only way anyone other than the a registered associate of iGavel can sell an item on the site is by consigning items through one of the iGavel associates. This means that the items being sold on iGavel are all sold by industry professionals. Founded by Lark Mason, the former director of online auctions at Sothebys, iGavel is a fantastic source of top quality fine art at reasonable prices.

One of the most popular sellers on iGavel is Daniel Cooney Fine Art, a Brooklyn based gallery specialising in photographs and works on paper. Daniel Cooney Fine Art hold auctions on iGavel three times a year and always have fantastic range of works to choose from at very good prices. The current auction which ends on the 18th of February offers some beautiful images by long time luminaries such as William Eggleston, Joel Meyerowitz and Garry Winogrand. The auction also features a group of portfolios and books by Dorothy Norman, Ralph Gibson and Jerome Liebling among others.

See the works available and bid here:
http://auction.igavel.com/ClientInfo.taf?_function=info&id=2846&skip=1

All lots available for viewing at Daniel Cooney Fine Art during regular business hours and by appointment.

Daniel Cooney Fine Art
511 West 25th Street, #506
New York, NY 10001,
212 255 8158
dan@danielcooneyfineart.com
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 11 – 6 and by appointment.

**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 Reality of Feb 09 Art Auctions – artmarketblog.com

The Reality of Feb 09 Art Auctions – artmarketblog.com

The first round of major art auctions for 09 have proven that there is still a considerable amount of money available to be spent on top quality and rare works of art provided the price is right. Fresh works from private collections appeared to be particularly sought after, a sign that solid and extensive provenance continues to be a big draw card. Even some of the less impressive works were eagerly fought over which suggests that the low prices and the excitement of the year’s first major auctions may have induced a bit of over-enthusiasm. The conservative estimates gave buyers plenty of reason to open their wallets and the smaller sales encouraged healthy competition for the top works.

Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale was the most impressive sale realising a total of £63,428,750 / $91,210,543 / €70,088,769 with 83% sold by lot and 88% by value. Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale wasn’t quite as successful as Christie’s bringing in a total of £32.6 million with 76% sold by lot and 68% by value. Sotheby’s failure to mention the sold by value percentage of their evening sale even though they did mention the sold by lot percentage suggests that they weren’t quite as impressed with their results as Christie’s were.

With the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sales, Sotheby’s trumped Christie’s with the sold by lot and sold by value percentages but Christie’s sale total was higher than that of Sotheby’s. Christie’s sold £14,131,975 / $20,307,648 / €15,841,944 work of works with a 76% sold by lot percentage and an 81% sold by value percentage where as Sotheby’s sold £11,292,825 / $16,179,230 / €12,687,503 work of work with 83% sold by lot and 90% sold by value.

The figures look impressive considering the events of the past six months but were the auctions really as successful as the figures suggest?. In short, no. And here’s why. First of all, Christie’s 2008 Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale realised £105,372,000 which is considerably more than the £63,428,750 taken at this years sale. Sotheby’s 09 Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale faired even worse when compared with their 08 sale which realised £117 million pounds, more than three times what the 09 sale achieved. Yes, the sales were much smaller, but the auction houses conducted smaller sales because there is not as much money available to be spent on art and the buyers are much more discerning. A smaller sale means that there are less works to fight over thus increasing the chance that the chance that the bidding will be far more competitive. Low estimates provided even more encouragement for bidders to get involved and, as I am sure many of you know, once you get involved in a bidding competition with someone else you don’t want to come out the loser.

Had this years sales had the same number of works and the same estimates it is unlikely that the results would have been as good as they were. Because of this, the only way that they true state of the art market could have been measured using these auctions was if the circumstances (auction size, estimates) were the same as they were the previous year. Sold by lot percentages and sold by value percentages are easily manipulated by the auction houses using the tactics that I have mentioned above. What can’t be manipulated by the auction houses is the total number of people that are willing and able to spend money on art and the total dollar value that they are able to spend. The success of a business such as Sotheby’s is determined by the dollar amount of profit that they make. Common sense would suggest that the dollar amount of profit that Sotheby’s and Christie’s made from their significantly smaller auctions would be far less than the dollar amount of profit they made in the much larger sales of 2008. Adjusting to the conditions to achieve results that appear to be positive is not the same as achieving a positive result.

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.

Global Art Market Avoids Crash – artmarketblog.com

Global Art Market Avoids Crash – artmarketblog.com

After all the predictions of doom and gloom that were made in relation to future of the art market during 2008 you may have begun to wonder why the correction that is taking place isn’t as bad as many people predicted. The reason that so many people predicted a major collapse of the art market is because the last time the art market took a dive in the early nineties, the dive was quite severe. What people need to realise is that the current art market is significantly different to what it was in the nineties and the circumstances under which the current correction is taking place are also considerably different.

There are actually several reasons that the correction has not been as severe as people predicted or as severe as the correction of the nineties. The first reason is that there are many more art buyers than there were during the early nineties. As a result, there are still plenty of people buying art even though there has been a reduction in the number of people that were buying art during the art market boom. In fact, it is estimated that there is at least 20 times more people buying art now as there was during the early 90’s. Those people that have retreated from the art market are the speculators that took advantage of the ability to make quick profits by flipping works of art and were partly responsible for the inflated prices so will not be missed.

Secondly, the art market boom was not driven by a small group of people. Many of the wealthy Japanese businessmen who were driving the art market were using art as a way of avoiding tax and also as a form of currency for criminal activity. Once the dodgy dealings of these Japanese businessmen were uncovered and the people involved made accountable, the art market had lost a considerable number of the people who had been responsible for the art market boom. The Japanese also used art as collateral for business deals many of which went bad when the financial crisis took hold. When the business deals went bad the art had to be sold to pay off debts and cover the losses from the business deals that went bad. The art that was associated with the criminal activity and the bad business deals became tarnished goods that undoubtedly reduced the desirability and the value of those works for a considerable length of time. When all was said and done the art market had once wealthy Japanese buyers had made a mass exodus from the market partly because of their financial problems and partly because of the shame that they had bought upon themselves. The Japanese had made up such a large number of the major art market players that their sudden absence sent the market into a downward spiral.

Thirdly, the art market is a much more global affair which has made the art market far more stable and able to withstand economic and financial downturns in the most significant markets for art such as America, Britain and France. There are now so many countries with strong or developing art markets that the number of countries whose art market is not effected by the financial crisis to the same extent as the top few countries is sufficient enough to prevent a total collapse of the art market and maintain the momentum of the global art market.

There are people that have said that these factors will not prevent an art market crash but it would appear that they have. Nothing was ever going to prevent a correction from taking place but I consider a crash and a correction to be two very different things and would challenge anyone who says otherwise.

**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.