The State of English Furniture

Clinton Howell, antiques dealer and contributor to ArtInfo published a very interesting article on the state of English Furniture. Howell states that on the surface the English furniture market appears to be reeling due to changes in taste, bad publicity due to the Hobb's brothers (search the AW blog for Hobbs for more information and previous posts) and some retirements of notable dealers, and I would also add to this list the various world economic issues as well .

Howell does report there are some very positive signs, such as strong prices for quality pieces at auction sales. Yet he goes back to changes in fashion and tastes, that Georgian furniture is just not "in", how the Hobbs situation diminished confidence in the property, brick and mortar rents nd overhead are high and more people and buying and selling at auction.

Howell states Some people simply don’t like to buy at auction, preferring the personal attention of a shopkeeper. Collecting English furniture requires an eye, and getting an eye takes more than catalogue perusal. You can’t ascertain real quality at a glance. Dealers are available to educate buyers at any time, not just during sales. Auctions of English furniture, moreover, are getting scarcer. In the early 1980s the big houses usually held eight annually in New York between them; now there are four. In a strange way, Christie’s and Sotheby’s are sowing the seeds of their own destruction, at least as far as this market is concerned. Sales that come every six months are not enough to keep collectors interested in a field this arcane and detail-oriented over the long haul.

What is the answer? Howell does not give one, but I would suggest dealers need to adjust to customer demands and tastes, operate businesses conservatively and cultivate new and existing client relationships.

To read Clinton Howell's ArtInfo article, click HERE.