Interesting article by Kelly Crow in The Wall Street Journal about the recent set of sales and the lessons to be learned. Is the top here? Only time will tell. Are sellers getting greedy? Hard to tell if it is the sellers or the auction rooms who are competing with each other to get the goods.
What is really important to remember is that it is almost impossible to compare results from this this year to last year. The works of art offered now are totally different from the works offered in the past (unless something is being resold — and then, the market usually frowns on this). Results will be governed by the quality, condition, period, size, estimates, economy and many other factors. No two works are the same, so results will all depend on what hits the market.
Last time around a Picasso made the headlines at $179.4M … this time around no Picasso came close — La gommeuse brought $67.5M. This time a Modigliani made $170.4M … no Modigliani has come close to that in the past — in 2014 his Tete brought $70.7M.
The most important point to remember is that in November 2015, $2.2 billions worth of art changed hands in the span of 2 weeks. No matter how you slice it, that is a great deal of money for some canvas and paint!
To read Kelly Crow’s full article, click HERE.
Amedeo Modiglian “Reclining Nude”