Saatchi Sculpture Collection to be Sold Unreserved and No Estimates

The Art Newspaper is reporting that collector Charles Saatchi will be selling with Christie's in October in London 50 large sculptures from his Frieze week exhibition "Thinking Big".  The unique aspect of the sale is the sculptures will be sold without reserves and pre sale estimates. It will be interesting to see how the sale does, and how collectors adapt to the sale without pre sale estimates as guides. As appraisers, we are typically cautious and skeptical of pre sale estimates as they can often be used to manipulate pricing and bidding, plus, many times they are just plain wrong.

The Art Newspaper reports

The British collector Charles Saatchi plans to sell around 50 large-scale works in a novel way. They are due to be auctioned by Christie's London on 17 October after a week-long exhibition in a cavernous former postal sorting station in central London (12-15 October).
Timed to coincide with Frieze week, "Thinking Big" comes with a twist: prospective buyers will find there are no estimates or reserves for the sculptures and installations being auctioned. These include works by artists such as Tracey Emin, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Sterling Ruby, Berlinde De Bruyckere and David Altmejd among others, according to a Christie's statement.

A spokeswoman for the Saatchi Gallery, London, says that proceeds from the sale will go towards maintaining free entry to the institution in Chelsea and funding its education work. School groups are not charged and most of the gallery's education workshops are free.

In 2011, Charles Saatchi proposed turning the Saatchi Gallery into a "Museum of Contemporary Art for London", offering around 200 works as a gift to the nation, including pieces by Tracey Emin, Grayson Perry and the Chapman brothers. But talks with the government, which was taken by surprise by the offer, have come to nothing. Sticking points included the fact that the Saatchi Gallery only leases the former Duke of York's barracks rather than owning it. Moreover, the collector also wanted the proposed institution to be able to sell some works from the gift to buy others. The titles of individual works offered was never disclosed. It is unclear whether any of the works to be included in "Thinking Big" formed part of the proposed gift. 

Source: The Art Newspaper