Art Auction Signals Tough Times Ahead

Wednesday, Sotheby’s auctioned off 76 lots of Impressionist and modern art. The pre-sale estimate for the whole thing was $355 million. Included in the sale were works by Picasso and Gauguin. The star of the show, though, was Van Gogh’s “Wheat Fields,” a landscape painted only days before his suicide. However, “Wheat Fields” and 19 other lots didn’t sell, and the $270 million the sold pieces brought it was a disappointment. When the art market starts to dip, it’s a sign of worse things to come.

Of course, the guys at Sotheby’s disagree. David Norman, Sotheby's chairman of Impressionist and modern art told Reuters, “I’m not ready to read this at all as a correction to the market, which I think, despite tonight, is strong. I know the sale was really difficult, but I see it more as resistance to the aggressive estimates and not so much that the market has turned. Our estimates were obviously not accepted by the market, which made people cautious." Spoken like a man whose paycheck depends on it.

“Wheat Fields” now belongs to Sotheby’s as the auction house had guaranteed the seller a minimum price, which was not met. Mr. Norman says his firm did receive an “onslaught of interest” right after the sale. He is confident of being able to sell it, saying “with patience we’ll get our price for it in the near future.”

Reuters also spoke with Nanne Dekking, vice president at Wildenstein who specializes in Impressionism. She noted that if the “Wheat Fields” didn’t sell, “that would certainly say something about the market.” Indeed, it says that even the very rich don’t want to spend much money right now – they figure the price will come down.

Meanwhile, Christie’s International held the second biggest art auction ever the night before, also of Impressionism. Pre-sale estimates there ranged from $349 million to $487 million, and the sale brought $395 million. Why did Christies sort of make its numbers while Mr. Norman's team didn't? Some say Sotheby’s merchandise was to blame. It’s hard to believe that about Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and Georges Braque – isn’t it? Perhaps too much supply and not enough demand are the real culprits.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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