The antiques trade has seen a vast change in how dealers procure and turnover inventory.  Today, you don’t have large numbers of American dealers and decorators annually making multiple grand buying trips to Europe, or for that matter Europeans with their overvalued Euro doing that here.  You do see dealers getting older with little new blood coming into the industry, sources to buy are more competitive, and a very segmented market subjected to evolving styles and price points. The dealer trade has retreated to the show format and for all practical purposes is abandoning the independent showroom/warehouse location.  As a kid I remember Pine Street in Philadelphia as a bustling…

Booms and busts have littered the decorative and fine arts markets just as financial cycles have their segmented ups and downs.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that any asset experiences change in the trajectory of its value.  Assets can crash and burn as well as present opportunity. Whether sub-prime securities or Impressionist art, no matter how good the underlying asset is packaged and promoted, buyers are constantly re-evaluating the market price. Like a mad dash for the exits, when perception meets a reality that revalues that asset differently, a panic can set in.  Remember when Impressionist painting was being aggressively purchased by the Japanese in the…

Only the Sotheby’s/Christie’s duopoly can do it, and nobody dares make a comment on the possibility of some sort of mutual manipulation of the market by them. I am referring to auction house guarantees, which caused a bit of a public shock when Sotheby’s supposedly took a bath on their sale of impress Sotheby’s and Christie’s, Colluding Again ionist and modern paintings sale held on the evening of November 7th in New York City. I read a striking comment about this in an article in the Art Newspaper’s December 12th online issue (186) which reported that “this summer both Sotheby’s and Christie’s imposed a cap on guarantees of around $500…

What is going on here?  A second auctioneer recently announced a change of practice in their method of auctioning to the public.  As related in an editorial in the Maine Antiques Digest, James Halperin, co-chairman of Dallas based Heritage Auction Galleries, stated in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that Heritage now discloses the secret reserve prior to their auctions and uses openness rather than secrecy to build confidence among their bidders. Holy cow!!   Is that the death of “chandelier bidding”?  Maybe, but he bring up another interesting point in questioning why “other auction firms are so hesitant to adopt similar policies”.  That is a question that must…

I have to admit, I never thought an auctioneer could so clearly elaborate on some of the critical issues that plague the auction process in our industry.  Robert Brooks, Bonham’s Chairman, displayed candour and truthfulness in stating “The minute an auction house moves away from simply being an intermediary between buyers and sellers and takes on the role of financier, it starts to change its core character as well as the relationship between the seller, his agent and the buyer.”   His comments, however, were directed not just to the public, but specifically towards the Sotheby’s/Christie’s duopoly and how they attempt to blur the lines of “agency” by acting as…

In Carol Vogel’s article “One Market Remains Sound: Money Is Still There for Best Art” in Saturday’s (11/17/07) New York Times, she reported that “when Sotheby’s or Christie’s is nervous that a work will not do well, it is not unusual for the house to contact potential buyers and offer special payment terms.” (my italic)  I would think as a journalist she might consider writing about this blatant form of the duopoly’s conflict of interest in such an auction, and how it is manipulative and unfair to the buying public to compete against such an undisclosed disadvantage.  In my mind, this is a practice that calls for a serious criminal…

You might remember 9 months ago, I commented (2/8/2007 blog) on a New York Times did a feature article in the House & Home section, revealing the dire straits of dealers suffering from a 30% fall in prices since 2002.  It’s time to look at the present market conditions and see what has changed.   Decorative Arts seem to be recovering from some of the malaise of earlier this year.  Conditions for selling have stabilized for all periods, as prices at auction have started to create a floor value.  The results of the Dandois sale certainly confirm this for the high end European market.  Along with some unexpected significant depreciation…

What happens when you have 20 various creditors to a dealer’s bankruptcy, who wants to opt out first?  Sotheby’s, of course, is trying to opt out of the NY State Supreme Court ruling by Judge Richard B. Lowe III that blocks the sale of all art items inside the Salander-O’Reilly Gallery in New York City.  Do auctioneers have a higher calling for works of art than a bank or consigner?  Welcome to the vigor of the Sotheby’s/Christie’s duopoly.   Fresh off winning State approval for holding auctions of wine, the distinction of blurring the lines or embellishing the practice of auctioneering by the duopoly is well done and well thought…

There are a lot of believers in the need for a reserve at auction, even if it has to be hidden from the public. I believe that it really isn’t necessary, and with the openness created by the Internet, the marketplace should be a secure barometer of what it’s worth. An opening bid at any price, should call all buyers to attention.   I think the Dandois sale at Sotheby’s last week was a watershed auction sale.  Never have so many high quality decorative arts items been sold without a reserve in a long, long time.  The sale obviously had many items on reserve, but a significant number of lots…

The Art and Antique Dealers League of America, Inc., is the oldest and principal antiques and fine arts organization in America, and its web site mission statement says its purpose is “to devote itself to the best interest of dealers and collectors of antiques and works of art”.    CINOA (La Confederation International des Negociants en Oeuvres d’ Art), is an international organization of art dealers representing more than 5000 dealers worldwide. On their web site, CINOA states that it “works with competent authorities to develop solutions and highlight the potential impact of emerging legislation on dealers and collectors as well as the ripple effect it has on all the…