Appraiser Workshops: Benefits of Multiple Lots at Auction

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on how and why auction houses promote and effect the sales of artists. One method is featuring several lots of signature works by the same artist. The WSJ notes Sotheby's was very successful with this strategy in the recent sales of Gerhard Richter contemporary art.

It is interesting an interesting startegy, because sometimes multiple lots by the same artist, or the same type of Dec Arts may also cause prices to decline as there are only so many bidders and dollars to go around and the market will only absorb so much at one time. Blockage discounts are an example when there are a large number of items coming to market at the same time. The current strategies seems to create a middle area where expectations of a few multiple lots will bring a premium instead of a discount.

Christie's will be attempting to duplicate Sotheby's Richter success with five lots of Alexander Calder pieces in the May 8th sale. The sale has one Calder lot with expectations of $8-$12 million, which is far above the record price of $6.3 million for Calder lots at auction.

It will be interesting to see how the sale in general turns out, and specifically the 5 lots by Calder.

The WSJ reports

Let's call it the leapfrog effect: When the market for an artist seems poised to take off, auction houses will often pack one of their sales with a large group of that artist's signature works. The bet is that collectors, swept up by the theatrical momentum, will compete harder for each work and possibly pay a record sum.

Sotheby's pulled off this feat last fall in New York when it offered up eight abstract paintings by Gerhard Richter in its major contemporary sale; all sold for well over their asking prices, including a purple "Abstract Painting" that went to collector Lily Safra for a record $20.8 million. Christie's did the same in February for Henry Moore, selling five works by the sculptor, including a record-setting $30.1 million bronze, "Reclining Figure: Festival."

Next in line could be Alexander Calder, the Pennsylvania-born sculptor known for turning wire and colorful metal plates into trembling mobiles (he died in 1976). During the recession, Calder's prices ticked upward as collectors sought pieces that were easy to identify and resell in the global marketplace, some trading privately for as much as $35 million apiece, dealers said. Even so, Calder's works look cheap compared with those of peers like Alberto Giacometti, whose bronzes have topped $100 million.

On May 8, Christie's in New York plans to test the upper reaches of Calder's auction market by offering a group of five Calder sculptures, including a standing mobile, "Lily of Force," that carries an $8 million to $12 million price tag—well over Calder's current auction record of $6.3 million.

Source: The Wall Street Journal