Preview of Upcoming Sales

The NY Times has a good article and preview of the upcoming major sales in New York. The Impressionist and Modern sales are scheduled for this week, followed by the Contemporary sales next week.

Right now there is still a fair amount of uncertainty to the upcoming sales, and many believe, and as I have mentioned in the past, the fall sales will be a good indication on where the art market is going in the short term and for 2012. According to the article the sales contain numerous works being sold by museums.  It does not mean these are great works, by the hope is the museum provenance will assist in selling the pieces at a fair or better than fair price.

The NY Times mentions the major houses have been having difficulty getting exciting works and what are truly considered masterpieces.  I dont think that necessarily means lower quality works are in the sale, but just not the one or two pieces that stand above the rest or enough to raise interest and awareness of the sale.  It will be an interesting two weeks.

The NY Times reports

With all the uncertainty surrounding the financial markets, putting together the important November auctions has been a challenge for Sotheby’s, Christie’s and, to a lesser extent, Phillips de Pury. Those considering selling are wondering if the assets on their walls are safer there than the stocks in their portfolio. And collectors sitting on cash and eager to buy are asking themselves, “At what price?”

“Nobody really knows what a masterpiece is worth today,” said Tobias Meyer, head of Sotheby’s contemporary art department. “This season is going to be a test of where the market really is.”

When the season kicks off at Christie’s on Tuesday evening, buyers will get a chance to bid on a safe and conservative mix of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints by tried-and-true artists. Gone are the days when auctions included the unexpected; gone too, for the moment anyway, are the more arcane works that appeal mostly to connoisseurs.

The biggest problem facing the auction houses has been rustling up big-ticket artworks. Little estate material — the bread-and-butter of the auction houses — came on the market this fall. And while record-breaking prices have been made during the bleakest of economic times, nobody knows what will happen this season. “Collectors had a wait-and-see attitude,” said Brett Gorvy, the head of Christie’s postwar and contemporary art department. “A lot of the business-getting was about relationships. And many deals were finalized at the last minute.”

To read the full NY Times article, click HERE.