The aggressive at sea art sales approach from Australian cruises appears to be the similar to those we have seen on a regular basis in the US. The buyers basically say the same thing, they were confident the known and respected cruise ship line would not be party to any form of misrepresentation and then proceed to spend thousands of dollars without any form of research or competent advise.
The SMH reports
To read the full Sydney Morning Herald article, click HERE.Jason Hall was holidaying on P&O ship Pacific Dawn in January when a hand-embellished lithograph by American Alexandra Nechita caught his eye.
He said a representative from on-board art sales company British Australian Art told him the recommended retail price was $50,000. It was beyond his budget until the auctioneer announced he could sell it for as little as $12,500.
''The auctioneer said Nechita was the new Picasso,'' said Mr Hall, from Sydney. ''He said it was a great investment and the value would go up … I didn't question it. I thought P&O wouldn't have anything dodgy on board.''
He spent more than $20,000 on prints, including $14,465 on Nechita's Riding The Waves. Back in Sydney, he approached art consultant David Hulme for a valuation and was told Nechita had almost no profile among art experts. Records on the database artprice.com showed that her prints had sold for far lower prices. The most expensive lithograph in the site's records sold for $US1500.
Mr Hulme believes the cruise auctions take advantage of inexperienced buyers. ''They have a captive audience with no opportunity to get independent advice,'' he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment