Raising the Profile of Gallery Sales

The NY Times ran an interesting article on an Old Masters dealer in Paris, Bob Haboldt who is publishing a book of his important sales since 1983.  According to the article the self published book reproduces 304 paintings and 103 drawings.

Art books are of course not unusual, but a dealer publishing a book of sales is somewhat unique.  Part of the process was to show that gallery sales and collectors patronizing galleries is still viable, and is an alternative to auction purchases which gathers most of the trade press interest.  I know many dealers publish catalogs, and few have published past sales.  But I would think more publicity and the ability to see what dealers and gallerists are doing and having selling is healthy for the trade, and may add a little more transparency and interest to the market place.

The NY Times reports 

In a highly unusual move, one of the most brilliant players in the Old Masters arena has come out in the open. Bob Haboldt, a Dutch dealer in Paris, has published under his own imprint a deluxe volume that reproduces 304 paintings and 103 drawings he has sold since 1983.

The hefty 430-page hardback is being dispatched to collectors, curators, experts and colleagues with whom Mr. Haboldt has been dealing. The remaining volumes are to be released for sale in the autumn for €120, or $150, which is intended simply to cover the costs of a limited edition that runs to 1,500 copies.

Mr. Haboldt said his aims were to see where he stands in his career and to make the public aware that a large part of art market activity goes unsung.

Cultural historians of the future may marvel at the availability of masterpieces during the past three decades — and at the way in which museums passed on them. Institutions tend to proceed by category rather than consider works on their merits — if a great artist is represented in their collections, they are prone to ignore a greater work than those they already own.

Source: NY Times