Israeli and Judaic Art on the Rise

The Financial Times recently published an article on Israeli and Judaic art. It notes Bonhams in London has scheduled a specialty sale for Israeli and Judaic art. The article notes this is Bonhmas first Judaic specialty sale, where in the past Judaic items were placed in the Travel and Topographical auctions.  We as appraisers can gather from this action a growing interest in Judaic and Israeli art, and as the FT article notes, in other regional  art sectors such as South Africa, Islamic art and from BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

Here is another opportunity to (shamelessly) promote the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies as a topical and timely publication. In the 2010 edition of the Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies, appraiser and Judaic art expert Elizabeth Berman contributed an excellent article on appraising synagogue and church collections.  Click HERE to read an excerpt from the article, or HERE to order the 2010 Journal with complete article.

The Financial Times reports

The sale of Israeli and Judaic art has parallels with Bonhams’ inaugural sale of South African art. When the late South African artist Gerard Sekoto’s “Self-portrait of the artist” sold for £117,600 in Bonhams’ Travel and Topographical sale in May 2006, the auction house was inspired to launch a biannual South African auction the following year. In March this year Sekoto’s “Yellow Houses, District Six” fetched an impressive £602,400 (both include buyer’s premium). Bonhams are banking on a similar trajectory for Israeli and Judaic art.

Giles Peppiatt, Bonhams’ head of Israeli art, commented: “The market for modern and contemporary Israeli and Judaic art has shown exceptional growth and strength in recent years.” He said the forthcoming auction has attracted interest “from both private collectors and museums internationally”. A spokesperson for Bonhams added that these groups include the Israeli diaspora as well as Jewish collectors round the world – and that it is hoped the sale will attract collectors never before exposed to this market.

A highlight of the auction is the colourful “Marseille Port” (1933) by Marcel Janco, one of the founders of the Dada movement. It is estimated at £120,000-£180,000.

The auction has been organised in conjunction with the Montefiore auction house in Tel Aviv, which has sourced a number of the lots.

To read the full FT article, click HERE.

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