Some thoughts on Americana Week

I have anxiously been awaiting the Americana sales this week at both Christie's and Sotheby's. Plus to get feedback on the Winter Show a bit later in the month. Many consider the auctions and sales a good annual barometer for the antique trade.

Sotheby's is having two sales, including the single owner Lamond Sale on Sat the 24th, and the Americana furniture and decorative arts salein two parts on Friday the 23 and Sat the 24th. These two large auction houses typically promote and feature these sales. In checking the sites, I find on the Sotheby's site good content and graphics of the sale on the home page, although rotating with other sales. When the computer flash programing opens, it starts and features items from the Americana sale. Nothing unusual about that, sort of expected, especially with the important sales starting Friday afternoon.

Next I go to the Christie's site and they have flash computer programing as well. But what surprises me is the Chrisite's home page has three rotating flash pages, one for the Feb impressionist and modern sale in London, one for the upcoming NY Old Masters sale, and one for the Paris sale of the collection of designer Yves St Laurent. Nothing on their Americana sale on the home page. To find the Americana sales on the Christie's site I had to go to the calendar to find the two sales, one for American Silver the other for Furniture/Decorative scheduled for Friday afternoon.

It will be interesting to see the sales results and compare to last years figures. But, I am surprised that Christie's does not have property form the Americana sale featured on the home page. The only thing I can assume is based upon the property in the sales, the level of return was to small to feature when compared to the total estimates of the other sales. The Yves St Laurent Sale is expected to generate over $350 million. Last year the main Christie's Americana decorative art sale totaled less than $20 million. Regarding importance of sales to Christies, I guess the numbers, as large as they are speak for themselves. Furniture and the decorative arts, like Rodney Dangerfield would say, "get no respect".

I'll report on the sales results as soon as I can. Perhaps this weekend or early next week.