A new article from Dow Jones Financial News Online finds that a record high 40% of contemporary works for sale at major auctions went unsold in the first quarter of 2009. Only three pieces, including the Anish Kapoor scultpure pictured above, sold for over $1 million (the Kapoor sold for approximately $1.2 million, including the buyer’s premium, at Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Sale in London last February). Check out the full article here.
One can assume that similar results are occurring in the non-six/seven/eight figure art market, too.
Speaking of Anish Kapoor, one of my favorite pieces of public sculpture is his “Cloud Gate” in Millennium Park, Chicago. I found this article in the Chicago Tribune about a battle brewing over raising admission cost to the Art Institute of Chicago for city residents.
This is really interesting. The auction houses can only keep increasing their estimate ranges so far until it blows up in their faces. Now with the economy in free fall you’re seeing them have to layoff staff and post horrible earnings.
I love this sculpture! Doesn’t surprise me that the recession is having an impact.
It doesn’t surprise me either that the recession is having an impact on the art world, no matter what the cost. It’s interesting however because in the early stages of the recession, many assumed art was a safer place to invest than in the stock market. I think one of the most important statements about art and the recession came from a Times of London article several months ago from an art insurance expert who basically says that art can’t and shouldn’t be a replacement for your stock.
“There is an urban myth that fine art and antiques are recession-proof. This is wrong, ” they said. “This market lags behind the economic cycle by around a year to 18 months. So people should not rely on it.”
Hey! It seems like the link to the Dow Jones piece requires registration now, so check out this pick up from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124026984601136751.html.
An artist sent over here from Feministe, here!
I can attest to the impact of the poor economical times on the art market. And not only in the auction of fine art pieces, but in the hiring/paying of commercial artists (I’m an illustrator). As an example, a current strategy for cutting costs is to use images from cheap stock photography sites (such as istock, etc.) as a cover image for books, with little or no acknowledgment of the original artist. If the artist is acknowledged, it’s generally via their registered username, and they may not find out that the piece is being used until it shows up on the cover of a bestseller. While there’s obviously nothing illegal about purchasing a picture from a stock site and using it as such, the overall cost to commercial artists who lose work over this strategy is enormous.
More on topic (after my rant) Anish Kapoor is amazing. We had the good fortune of a piece of his showing at the Hirschorn a few years back. He strikes me as the sculptor equivalent of Umberto Eco, his works folding and reworking space to reflect in on itself. Gorgeous.
I’m the registrar for a large commercial fine art gallery that’s been a successful business for almost 40 years, and I can also attest to the dismal art market. It’s scary out there, but if you still have a disposable income and you’ve been interested in collecting art, NOW is the time to buy.