Recap of Major Auctions

Carol Vogel of the NY Times ran a very good recap of the auction sales over the past several weeks at Sotehby's, Christie's and Phillips. I have already posted results on the AW Blog about many of these sales, and if you are a daily reader you already know there was a fair amount of pain and suffering for both consignors and the auction houses. As bad as the current round of auctions were and given many of the sales estimates and catalogs were put together months ago, some experts believe, including some auction house specialists the sales could have been far worse.

Vogel reports It was easily the worst two weeks of high-end Impressionist, modern and contemporary art auctions in more than a decade. Night after night, collectors and dealers tentatively watched as paintings by Monet and Matiesse, Bacon and Warhol went unsold. Each time the hammer fell, it seemed to signal a new era in sales, one that featured the return of the seasoned collector and more-sober business practices. Still, given the depth of the global economic crisis, auction house experts were expecting worse.

But timing was not kind to the auction houses. The sales were put together in summer, well before the financial picture darkened, and were overloaded with works from sellers trying to cash in on the last several seasons’ wave of inflation. To win their business the highly competitive auction houses bankrolled them with guarantees, undisclosed sums promised to sellers regardless of a sale’s outcome.

Vogel's recap is an excellent read, I highly recommend you follow the link. Vogel also states that for 2009 volume is expected to fall, the major international auction houses will most likely cut back on expensive parties, guarantees and catalog printing, as well as possible staff cuts.

To read the NY Times article, click HERE.