Thursday, December 18, 2008

2009 Trends in Art Collecting


"Diamonds are a girls best friend"

Sneak Peek 2009
The Big Trends in Art Collecting in the new year...Flight to quality.

The Bold Prediction, Diamonds are forever. Even while the economic downturn batters luxury jewelry retailers like Bulgari and Cartier, top-quality diamonds, especially colored stones, will continue to demand stratospheric prices. The old laws of supply and demand rule when it comes to one-of-a-kind mega-sparklers.

Connoisseurship will reign, most notably in the highest-priced markets like impressionist and modern, and postwar and contemporary art. Bottom feeders will suck up some lesser works, but auction houses will see many lots failing to elicit a single bid. Though the economy will continue to put a damper on sales in 2009, records will be set for rare and exquisite works. Precursor: At Sotheby's November impressionist and modern evening sale, Kazmir Malevich's 1916 abstract, "Suprematist Composition," fetched $60 million (including the auction house premium), a record for the artist, in a sale that made $223.8 million, $113 million less than the low estimate.

The Unconventional Wisdom. Prices for work by African-American artists will continue to climb, despite the awful economy. Long under-valued, African-American art is breaking out of its under-appreciated niche. Mainstream museums like the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art are buying more work by black Americans. While the stock market was crashing in October, Swann Auction Galleries set a record for abstract painter Norman Lewis, when the MFA paid $312 million (including the auction house commission) for an untitled work from the early 1960s.

The Misplaced Assumption. Contemporary Chinese art is dead. Sales for Chinese contemporary work performed horribly in fall 2008 after soaring for the previous four years. But the price drops were a needed correction, spawned by the economic crisis. At auction, Chinese contemporary prices have tumbled 30% to 40% from their peak. Only 18 of 32 lots found buyers at Christie's Nov. 30 auction of contemporary Asian art in Hong Kong. However, the crazy run-up in prices and sudden popularity of contemporary Chinese art have brought some notable names to the fore. Work by artists like Zhang Xiaogang and Zeng Fanzhi will continue to be valued by collectors.

The Watch List. Sol LeWitt. Death and museum shows are the perfect combination when it comes to goosing value. Watch for price hikes for work by conceptual artist LeWitt, who died in 2007. The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, Mass., just opened a LeWitt retrospective that will stay up for the next 25 years, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York is staging an exhibit of LeWitt's wall drawings through June 29. While inflated contemporary art prices are sure to get battered by the tanking economy, LeWitt's pieces, which range from minimalist, geometric drawings to room-sized structures, are probably a sound investment at this point.

Susan Adams On Collecting Forbes.com 12.17.08, 6:00 PM ET

Monday, December 1, 2008

Conversation with Marian Goodman


The New York gallerist Marian Goodman, a 41-year veteran of the trade, is known the art world over for her impeccable taste— not to mention her star-studded yet homey postopening dinner parties. She was introduced to collecting by her father, an accountant with an affinity for modern masterworks. And although she now shows such big guns as John Baldessari and Gerhard Richter, she is not afraid to take a chance on a new talent like the British-born, Berlin-based Tino Sehgal. Here, she chats with Sarah Douglas about the art of art dealing.

Was there a particular artwork that was important in developing your gallery’s aesthetic?

In 1974 I met [the Belgian artist] Marcel Broodthaers and fell in love with his work. I then published some editions with him. This was before I had a proper gallery, so I tried to find one for him in New York. When I couldn’t convince anyone, I simply couldn’t believe it— such a great artist! Finally, I told him that I would love to open a gallery to exhibit his work. He said yes. And I did. That was the defining moment. Of course, there were many others as I discovered the work of artists I would come to represent.

Leo Castelli had a very significant influence on you. Why?

He was a great advocate for artists and a model for the responsibility that dealers should feel toward their artists. He was an elegant man working in a very difficult art world, because there were so few collectors then. He ran the greatest gallery of his time and our time.

Was it difficult at first to be in this business as a woman?

I felt it more as a print publisher [under the name Multiples, Inc.]. I didn’t have that feeling so much as a gallerist. Many important women gallerists had come before me, such as Betty Parsons, Martha Jackson and Ileanna Sonnabend. They made things realizable for those of us who followed.

What qualities do you look for in an artist?

For me, the work has to have the power or the poetry to move—through the quality of its content and its relevance to life, through its originality, its metaphysical force or through the magnificence of its physical presence.

You’ve built an impressive stable of artists. How often do you have to deal with other dealers approaching them?

Every gallerist who works with a successful artist faces this kind of challenge. When I started representing the artists of my gallery, some of them unknown, some of them not yet at the height of their career, we worked closely together to achieve their goals. I would like to believe that if a gallerist has worked closely with artists and joined with them to help advance their careers in ways that are productive, supportive and worthy of trust, there is most often a happy ending.

Rival dealers aren’t the only danger. I imagine the auction houses must be more of a concern for you these days than when you started.

The auction house and the gallery have very different functions. It’s the galleries that develop the artists and that are wise to keep the artists’ best interest first and to sell the work responsibly. This isn’t true of the houses— they have no commitment at all to the art itself, and quality is not always their highest priority. I believe they certainly don’t have the artists’ best interest at heart, and they contribute heavily to the idea that art is just merchandise.

Do you ask for a resale agreement when you sell something?

Yes. We ask that the work be kept out of auction for five years.

What if a collector wants to buy from you because he or she has opened a private museum?

It depends on the quality of the collection and the usual criteria. It’s just a matter of experience, trying to decide who’s the best custodian of the work. It’s certainly a big problem that most public museums are increasingly priced out of the market. We try very hard to sell to these institutions, and fortunately, there are generous collectors who donate important works to them.

Many new collectors have come into the market recently. How can you tell which ones are dedicated?

Of course, by conversation, by trying to understand them and their collections. That’s essential. It’s like anything else: You learn by experience and by doing your homework. Sometimes you are surprised, that’s also true. If a collector has a relationship with a museum—is on the board or somehow involved productively— it gives one a better sense of who that collector is. It’s a small world.


"Conversation with Marian Goodman" by Sarah Douglas originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Art+Auction

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

One Bubble Yet To Pop


Real estate was the first to go, with a sibilant snap. Then stock markets around the world very nearly exploded. If art is indeed the next to bubble to burst, top auction houses better savor sweeps like "Resurrection: Avant-Garde Fashion," the Oct. 30 sale of vintage clothing at Christie's South Kensington, London, sale room.

Plucked from the private collection of Los Angeles-based vintage boutique owners Katie Rodriguez and Mark Haddawy, the sale included offbeat wares spanning the second half of the 20th century, including a replica of Andy Warhol's "Souper" paper dress, circa 1966; a saffron-colored, smiley face-pocked wool sweater from Marc Jacobs, circa 1985, and a topless swimsuit by Rudi Gernreich circa 1964.

Many of the uncommon pieces--considered avant-garde, or boundary-pushing, by Christie's--are one-offs, pieces of art meant, sometimes, to be worn. Even so, the high prices at which many pieces sold remain surprising, given the current global economic climate.

Pierre Cardin's satellite cape is a prime example of fashion as art. Unless the buyer planned on dressing as a Martian for Halloween, it's safe to say that the candy-apple-red vinyl bubble, lined in synthetic fleece and fitted with a heavy brass zipper down the front, is for display only.

The Italian-born Cardin, best known for his architectural shapes that paid little attention to a woman's proportions, defined the space-age trend of the 1960s with pieces like this circular rain-slicker. The cape, expected to bring between $6,400 and $9,600, sold for $8,300.

But other pieces easily exceeded their pre-sale estimates.

Paco Rabanne's mod tunic dress, assembled from linked aluminum panels, sold for $24,900--exactly three times its original estimate of $8,300. The nearly unwearable dress, trimmed with metal rivets at the décolletage, may prove an impractical frock for next month's charity ball, but its rarity deems it worthy for serious collectors.

Despite the fact that they often lack utility, prices for vintage clothing have continued to climb over the last decade, similar to wine, watches and of course, fine art. Even current fashion is benefiting from the demand. At a Cannes auction in May 2008 to benefit amfAR, a custom-tailored Chopard by Alberta Ferretti dress, with 2.904 carats of Chopard precious stones on lilac silk chiffon, was sold for $486,000.

Hicham Aboutaam, head of Phoenix Ancient Art, an antiquities dealer with locations in Geneva and New York, says that prices in the art market, just like those in global stock markets and real estate markets, have been inflated by speculation. "There has been so much hype without true appreciation in the actual work of art," says Aboutaam. Now, those prices will start to come back down to earth, he concludes.

But unlike other categories, a six-figure garment is still a rarity, whether there's a recession or not. That means, even for those who have lost large chunks of their net worth these past two months, buying fashion, particularly vintage, remains feasible.

"The Christie's auction proved to be a great success," says Cameron Silver, owner of Decades. Silver, who specializes in Hermes bags and glamour gowns for the Hollywood A-list, says that he's has seen similar success in his own business: His sales are stronger than ever and his client base is broadening.

Silver predicts that those who used to buy Andy Warhol silk screens may now trade down to one of Warhol's paper dresses, which offer the same prestige for a lower price tag.

"Many people are turning to vintage as a guilt-free way to shop," he says.

Lauren Sherman, 11.04.08, 6:00 PM ET Forbes.com Forbes Life Connoisseur's Guide

World's Up-And-Coming Art Fairs

On Dec. 4, Art Basel Miami Beach, arguably the most important annual art fair to take place in the U.S., will kick off with great fanfare. More than 200 galleries will exhibit works by their most prominent artists, and hundreds of dealers, collectors and hangers-on will be wined and dined by the likes of Vanity Fair and the Miami Art Museum throughout the week.

Basel Miami (an offshoot of Switzerland's renowned, 40-year-old Art Basel) has only existed since 2002, and some art-world insiders see it more as a scene than a fair where serious business takes place. And this year, as the art world finally begins to feel its bubble deflating, business is important. So for collectors looking to do more than swill champagne (particularly those with smaller collections they want to grow), a visit to a less-publicized fair might be a better bet.


That's not to say it's no business and all pleasure. "Basel Miami caters to a jet-set crowd," says David Velasco, editor of Artforum.com, the online edition of venerable contemporary art magazine Artforum, based in New York. "There is a bedrock of serious collectors that attend."

But Velasco says that while he's in Miami for Basel, he also makes sure to attend the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Fair, Fountain Art Fair and Pulse Contemporary Art Fair: Miami, all of which take place annually in the first week of December.

Smaller Fairs, Bigger Gains
The NADA Art Fair, in particular, provides a forum for new galleries and emerging artists. That means the work is typically lesser-known. But it's also less expensive. Works at Basel sometimes sell for upward of $1 million; at NADA, the priciest pieces generally hover in the four- to five-figure range. Founded in 2002, the New Art Dealers Alliance is a nonprofit organization that benefits fledgling gallery owners, curators and other emerging talent in the industry.

Sam Wilson, a co-owner/director at the Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y., is a member of NADA. This is the second year his gallery--which opened in 2004--has participated in the fair. Wilson says he and his partners chose NADA because of its rigid application process, which provides a sense of exclusivity.

"It's pretty prestigious," he says. Only 88 galleries are participating in the NADA fair; Basel Miami has more than double that amount.

Although he won't reveal figures, Wilson says last year's fair was a financial success.

"We made back all of our expenses and sold about 15 pieces," he says. "Since then, we've definitely made more sales through contacts we made there, and a few of our artists have been shown in other cities in the U.S. and Europe as a direct result of being shown at our booth."

Beyond Miami Beach
Miami might serve as a hot bed for art fairs in December, but around the world and throughout the year there are similar low-key events showcasing modern and contemporary artists.

Even in Shanghai, where the art world is stifled by a 34% luxury tax, collectors are gathering. Those behind ShContemporary, which will take place next in September 2009, aim to show off China's rising art stars.

Although not as many transactions take place in mainland China because of the tax, Velasco says the fair gives collectors in the region a chance to see what's available. They may buy the art later in Hong Kong, a duty-free zone, but the point is that they're buying it. In 2007, $3.3 billion worth of Chinese art was sold at public auctions worldwide, a 29.1% increase from 2006, according to Artron, a Beijing-based art-market research firm. However, that pace is unlikely to be sustained through 2009, if the latest auction results are any indication.

In Europe, the most high-profile fair is Frieze, which has taken place every October since 2003 in London. Created by those behind the high-end art magazine of the same name, this contemporary-art fair features prominent galleries like Hauser and Wirth and celebrated artists such as Garth Weiser--and draws in celebrity collectors, including Madonna.

Fairs Everywhere, For Every Budget
But you don't need to be part of an arts scene to find the fairs--nor do you have to hop on a plane. From Chicago to Turin, Italy, there are fairs for every type of collector, at almost every budget.

In terms of profitability, however, for both dealers and artists, many believe that the Middle East is where it's at. In both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, new fairs are popping up at a clip.

Art Paris-Abu Dhabi, a new fair organized by the government-run Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, features both modern and contemporary art, and appeals to the new wave of collectors from the Middle East. Although Art Paris-Abu Dhabi doesn't offer numbers on how many pieces were sold in 2007, or how much money was made overall, the response from last year's event was so great that the group has increased the number of galleries represented at the fair by 42%, from 41 in 2007 to 58 in 2008.

This year, the centerpiece of the fair--which will take place Nov. 17-21--is the Palace Gardens at luxury hotel Emirates Palace, which will be filled with sculptures by artists such as Tony Cragg and Igor Mitoraj. In the past, British sculptor Cragg's pieces have sold for more than for $130,000 at auction.

Whether you're looking to plunk down $5,000 or $500,000, there's a fair out there that will work for you. And for those with an even more limited budget, there's always Etsy.com and 20x200.com, which sell original artwork and limited-edition prints for as low as $20.

"Once you're out of the main art hubs--New York, London, Miami, Basel--it gets less expensive," says Artforum.com's Velasco. So for the budget-conscious, don't dispel your regional art fair. You might find a valuable piece for not very much money.

Lauren Sherman, ForbesLife, Collecting, 11.13.08, 4:30 PM ET

The Hidden Costs of Art Collecting


Equestrienne, 1931
Marc Chagall 1887-1985

Garry Boehlert loves his art collection. He is particularly fond of one of his newest acquisitions, an oil painting he commissioned from New York painter and gallery owner Max-Carlos Martinez that now hangs in his bedroom in Washington, D.C. The work, Twilight, is inspired by astronomical imagery and takes the form of a 9-foot-by-4-foot triptych. Swirls of color dominate the painting, which represents Martinez’s conception of the death of a star.

The problem, which Boehlert slowly realized after acquiring the piece, was that the lighting in his home did not do the work justice. "Because the painting changed so dramatically based on the time of day and type of lighting, it was critical to get exactly the right kind of lighting to show it off," he says. Several months—and some $22,000 later—Boehlert thinks he has it right. "There are now six little halogen lights suspended from a rod in the ceiling, each focusing on key parts of the painting, and all the switches are on a dimmer, so I can adjust the level as well," he says.

Martinez, while equally thrilled with all the attention his work has received, is also a bit bemused by the hoopla. "He spent almost as much on the lighting as he did for the painting itself."

For art collectors, lighting expenses are just one consideration. In fact, gallery owners, art advisors and veteran collectors compare art collecting to buying a house and finding yourself writing check after check to gardeners, landscapers, roofers, interior designers and antique shops. Furthermore, the costs of owning fine art continue to mount from one year to the next. "So many new buyers may not completely realize that they are just caring for works that really belong to art history," says Thea Westreich, a veteran New York art advisor who has worked with many experienced collectors. "They make more than enough money to pay for anything that needs to be done, but may not realize all that has to happen to properly care for a work—especially people who make big art purchases on a whim. They aren’t thinking that that Cézanne watercolor they just bought has to be shielded from light. Then the risk is that one day they wake up and an important work is lost, not just to the collector but to the world."


Pay to Play
For collectors, the financial realization may hit as soon as the auctioneer’s gavel descends and they find themselves the new owner of a work of art. Within the next hour or so, they will write a check not only for the purchase price but also to cover the buyer’s premium, typically around 15 percent of the final price. Then the auction house representative will ask how they want their work shipped to them.


When a collector buys a treasured piece of art, his outlay is just beginning. Fees for insurance, framing, lighting and pres-ervation, among many other things, pile up quickly, often taking novice owners and investors by surprise. In today’s overheated market, where many view art more for its potential appreciation than for its aesthetic value, collectors must fully under- stand and calculate the entire monetary investment required for this asset class.

"That’s when the costs start to climb," says Lisa Erf, director of the JPMorgan Chase art collection in New York. "It’s not just the cost of building a proper crate or other packaging for the work, but the transportation." Not many works, she wryly notes, can submit to being rolled up in a tube and sent to the collector’s home via FedEx. "And then what many buyers forget about is the need to insure that work while it’s in transit. The auction house’s or gallery’s insurance does not extend beyond its premises, and typically your own insurance won’t cover it until it’s inside your front door."

Like transportation, framing is a cost that can surprise a novice collector. True, neither is likely to be nearly as costly as the work itself, particularly in the current overheated market for contemporary art; most collectors are more than willing to pay to protect and display their new treasure. "But when we go to art fairs like Art Basel Miami, and new collectors drift into the booth, that is the kind of expense that still shocks them—when they see on the invoice that the photograph they love needs to be framed properly, then shipped properly and insured," says Martinez, who works as associate director of the Winkleman Gallery in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood.

But after a few thousand dollars here and a few thousand there, the hidden costs of art collecting reveal themselves. This is especially true for collectors who seek more than just the thrill of having an artwork they love hanging on their walls. "For buyers who think of these purchases as investments, every additional cost—especially if it’s a recurring cost—is going to eat into their total return," Westreich says.

Consider, for example, the potential costs associated with actually displaying a newly acquired piece. "Many people get emotional at galleries and auctions and buy things that they can’t fit in their houses," says Amy Cappellazzo, cohead of contemporary art at Christie’s in New York. "Some go to extreme lengths to accommodate the work."


Even the most cautious collector cannot guard against every possible scenario—and there are some problems that even those collectors with the deepest pockets can’t avoid. Take the world of color photography, for example: Experts estimate that no color photograph—including the large-scale works by Andreas Gursky now commanding prices of $2 million and up at auction—will last longer than 200 years, because the complex organic chemicals used to produce them decompose, unlike those used in oil paintings or black-and-white photography. Digital prints will fade even faster.

For Joan and Michael Salke, doyens of the art scene in Boston and Miami, going to great lengths would be an understatement. In the late 1990s, the Salkes acquired a massive painting by Philip Taaffe called Tsuba Forest. After the purchase, they quickly realized they could not get it into any of their homes. "Whatever we did, there was no way we were going to make it fit," says Joan Salke of the work, which is 111.5 inches high and 134 inches wide. While the couple had always promised themselves not to accumulate works that languished in storage, they had no choice this time. For four years, the Boston Museum of Fine Art got lucky and was able to display the work in its galleries until the Salkes went shopping for a new, larger condominium in Florida, where they spend about half of each year. Finally, they found their new home—an apartment in a new building where the ceiling heights were, fortuitously, exactly 111.5 inches high. "That was the clincher," Salke says.

But even then, they were faced with more than just the task of bringing in the artwork and hanging it on the wall. "Turned out that the height wasn’t precisely 111.5 inches at each point along the wall," Salke recalls. A team of laborers went to work sanding the ceiling and cement floor in a few places identified by a specialist as being a fraction of an inch too small. Then, worried by the possibility of some kind of adverse reaction between the painting’s canvas and the cement floor base, the Salkes oversaw the installation of a kind of drain pan along the cement floor—the same kind of underflooring used with shower tile. At last, it was time to hang the painting. "It took a day and a half to install," Salke remembers.

Finally, the new flooring, marble, could be installed. First, however, they screened off the painting in a kind of clean room, so that construction dust would not damage it. And, of course, the flooring could not stretch all the way to the wall because the painting occupied the full space. "So we now have a floor that ends just before the wall, with lovely beveled edges," Salke says. Whether or not the condominium’s next buyer will be so enthusiastic about such unusual features remains to be seen, but the Salkes realize that, as long as they own the work, they are likely to cling to their new apartment. "Face it, we don’t want to have to move," she says.

Even after a collector navigates the display maze, the costs of maintaining the collection continue to climb. Fortunately, many crises can be solved if an individual has enough cash to throw at the problem. Hedge fund impresario Steve Cohen made headlines when he paid a reported $12 million to acquire a work by Damien Hirst—a 14-foot tiger shark preserved in a tank full of formaldehyde. Unfortunately, the shark was in less-than-pristine condition after several years immersed in chemicals: Bits of the big fish were flaking off into the surrounding liquid, turning the tank into a murky mess. Cohen eventually convinced Hirst to replace the shark. Still, the art world is buzzing with the tale that Hirst will do the work for free, but Cohen will bear the cost of acquiring the new shark. (Cohen has repeatedly declined to discuss the shark debacle publicly.)

"Condition really affects the value of a work, so it’s important that collectors be prepared to spend what is required to preserve it," Westreich says. "It’s not a game for the unsophisticated, those who aren’t well advised or the uninitiated, just because they have deep pockets."

In the eyes of some collectors, the real hidden costs may be more intangible than writing checks to cover itemized costs like this. "It’s not the cost of framing, it’s the fact that the framer takes six weeks to finish the job rather than four weeks, and you planned a party in five weeks to show off your new purchase to hundreds of your dearest friends," says Bill Brady, owner and director of the ATM Gallery in Manhattan. "It’s the cost of a collector jetting off to an art fair in Florida or London or Venice or Miami. It’s the cost of having someone on call to walk into galleries with you and help you understand what you’re looking at. But then, when people get as caught up in the frenzy as they are right now, all that tends to just slip right out of their heads."

Art Overhead
Buyer’s Premium: Typically 15 percent of the sales price.

Insurance: With prices in the art market soaring, collectors should get up-to-date appraisals. But beware: As art values rise, so do insurance premiums.

Shipping: A FedEx overnight tube won’t do. To transport valuable works of art, collectors must hire the services of specialized companies that can provide adequate safety and security.

Framing: Proper framing both enhances and protects a work’s value.

Installation: Sometimes the artist’s presence may be required to install a piece, particularly with installations or video art. "Some artists will do that as part of the service for a valued collector; sometimes there is a charge for that," says Bill Brady, owner and director of the ATM Gallery.

Lighting: For some works—particularly photographs or works on paper—ensuring that a room is not too bright is critical to preserving the items. The solution may be to install dimmer lighting or blackout shades or to create specialized display cases. A growing number of collectors not only install nonreflective glass that protects the work underneath from ultraviolet light, but also put in the same kind of glass in the windows of any rooms in their home where they display art.

Security: This most fundamental way of protecting one’s investment is not negotiable. Insurers often require that owners invest in elaborate—and often expensive—security precautions.

Repair:
When a work is damaged, its owner must try to salvage what is left by hiring restorers to make repairs. Insurance will likely cover some of this cost.

Suzanne McGee is a Brooklyn, New York–based financial journalist and a regular contributor to Worth Magazine.
10/01/2007

Saturday, November 22, 2008

The Fine Art of Surviving the Crash in Auction Prices


So where does it go from here? The art-market bubble has burst. Prices of contemporary, modern and Impressionist artwork tumbled about 30%, and sometimes more, at the huge auctions that finished last Friday in New York. There's no guarantee that further declines aren't yet to come.
[Crash in Auction Prices Illustration] David Gothard

The art market's crash -- for that is what it is -- threatens to remake the art world. In the past few weeks, auctioneers, dealers, artists and collectors have changed strategies and policies, and it's likely that future changes will be even more sweeping. With Sotheby's stock hovering at about $9, down from $50 a year ago, it's now cheaper to buy the 164-year old brand than all the art it sold in the past three months.

It's all been a reality check for art collectors. Noted one West Coast art dealer: "Their houses are worth less, their stocks are worth less, but they thought their Rudolph Stingel was still priced the same? No."

In the wake of the auctions, says Tobias Meyer, a vice chairman of Sotheby's: "The price disparity between good and great has widened to humongous." The problem for the trillion-dollar global art industry is that most of the art it has for sale is, by definition, just average.

Here, a look at how the art-market retrenchment will affect its players:
The Auctioneers

Cutbacks are coming. Sotheby's CEO William Ruprecht told analysts in a conference call that "we'll be resizing our organization" and "there are no sacred cows." And while Christie's is not publicly traded, the two top auction houses' moves often mirror each other.

The "recipe for all the auction houses has changed," said Michael McGinnis of Phillips de Pury auctioneers, in the wake of sales last Thursday and Friday in which only about 60% of the art the company put on the block sold. All the auctioneers are likely to focus on "volume control," offering more "focused, targeted" sales at the next big round of auctions next spring.

They're also likely to push more of the risk of selling art onto collectors. In recent years, in a booming market, auctioneers often offered sellers guarantees of minimum amounts -- but the auction house would profit on the upside. Mr. Ruprecht told the analysts that "going forward, we will generally not be using our capital for guarantees."

Sellers, of course, may not let the auctioneers off easy. They'll increasingly be requesting clauses in their contracts allowing them to take art off the block if market conditions change and promises regarding catalogue entries and the touring and exhibition of their works, says Jo Backer Laird, art-law attorney at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler and former general counsel of Christie's. If they're smart, she says, they'll insist that specific marketing proposals for their pieces be included in their contracts.
The Dealers

It's been lucrative to be in the art business in the past few years, but it's also been quite costly. "Dealers fighting for market share have had to open spaces around the world or lose their artists to other galleries," says John Martin, a London dealer who also runs the Art Dubai contemporary art fair.

In that light, last week's contemporary art sales were "a disaster, but it's a good one," says dealer David Nahmad, one of the world's most active art buyers. Dealers, by and large, were the ones ponying up for the art that did sell at auction in recent weeks, with Larry Gagosian, Jack Tilton and Robert Mnuchin raising paddles.

The downturn was foreseeable, and some dealers started strategizing early, says Robert Goff, principal of Chelsea's Goff & Rosenthal gallery. Last April, his gallery halted price increases, trimmed its stable of artists and cut down on art fairs. Meanwhile, "we're still selling," he says, though not at the breakneck pace of last year. In New York, only a couple of galleries have closed their doors so far, but several are opening only "by appointment" and not staging new shows.
The Artists

And for the legions of young artists who came of age during the boom, right now "it's a case of spray and pray," says New York private dealer Andrew Terner, who curates of the art collection of the Four Seasons restaurant.

“The price disparity between good and great has widened to humongous.” Tobias Meyer, a vice chairman of Sotheby's

Consider Peter Doig, a Canadian who paints works inspired in part by horror films. Mr. Doig's works skyrocketed in the past five years -- from about $400,000 in 2003 to millions of dollars as Peter Norton, Don and Mera Rubell, Charles Saatchi and even the Museum of Modern Art added Doigs to their collections. Collector "waiting lists" for his new works inflated prices and, last year, Georgian industrialist Boris Ivanishvili bought one for $11.4 million. But last Wednesday a Doig priced at about $5.5 million couldn't break half that and didn't sell.

Painter Kehinde Wiley, 31, has had tremendous success with his skilled, Renaissance-style portraiture of black men. He is collected by Susan and Michael Hort, LL Cool J and Russell Simmons, among others. Mr. Wiley says he's aware that his paintings, meant to be somewhat spiritual, have an element of being "high-end luxury goods for the wealthy." But he says that before he even arrived for the party celebrating his recent show at Deitch Projects, "I heard half [the works] were sold."

Indeed, since nearly $747 million of art did change hands at the auctions (a total that would have been considered robust just five years ago), what was in demand? Paintings that sold well were by veteran artists with a small following of extremely passionate collectors in search of works that rarely come up for auction: Edvard Munch, Joseph Cornell and Kazimir Malevich, by and large, defied the slump. Blue-chip, mid-career artists about to have major shows or who have major patrons also are faring well, at auction and in private sales. Women artists, by and large, are selling better than men, as they play catch-up on the price run-ups of the past few years. Works that had been owned by a famous collector, such as Donald Judd or even Lehman CEO Richard Fuld Jr., largely escaped the rout, too.

Nonetheless, some big plans have been scaled back for big names. Since last spring, Sotheby's and Japanese art star Takashi Murakami have been negotiating and structuring a solo sale of his works, similar to the Damien Hirst blowout in September. Now, those plans have been canceled, Sotheby's insiders say.
The Collectors

Certainly collectors have seen the value of their art fall sharply -- and those who've bought in bulk or taken out loans against their collections could face serious financial hits. But art collecting is a passion, even an addiction, that doesn't end based on market trends, says Larry Warsh, a leading collector of U.S. and Chinese contemporary art. Indeed, the collector may now be in the catbird seat.

Dealers "are offering very fair prices," says Miami real-estate developer and art collector Craig Robins. Indeed, he argues that the volume of art sales going on in the weak economy points to the "strength -- not the weakness -- of the art market." Right now, says auctioneer Christopher Burge, Christie's chairman emeritus, collectors are "finding excuses not to buy." But he's seen several downturns in 40 years at the rostrum, and they don't last. Ultimately, art behaves much like luxury real estate, he says, with the best material holding and increasing in value. Moreover, bad economies have traditionally spurred better contemporary art, he says.

That said, art sellers of all stripes are refocusing their marketing on the very top end of the market. Earlier this month, in a soaring penthouse apartment overlooking Carnegie Hall, Palm Beach art-fair organizer David Lester spoke to a crowd that included host Wilbur Ross, coal billionaire; members of the Bancroft family (until recently, owners of this newspaper); and designer Mario Buatta. Urging them to attend his American International Art Fair in February -- and its new menu for VIP guests of golf outings, private museum tours and dinner at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago -- he revealed the silver lining of the current downturn. "Things are going to come to market that would not normally become available," he said. "There are opportunities."

Ms. Peers writes on art and the art market for The Wall Street Journal.
Write to Alexandra Peers at alexandra.peers@wsj.com

Endowment Drying Up, MOCA LA Seeks Help


Richard Diebenkorn
Untitled, 1953
Watercolor, ink, and pencil on paper
Paper: 15 1/2 x 18 3/4 in. (39.4 x 47.6 cm) Frame: 22 3/4 x 25 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (57.8 x 65.4 x 3.8 cm)
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Bequest of Marcia Simon Weisman
96.107

Provenance:
Purchased from James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles: 10/03/85

Exhibition History:
"Drawings, 1944-1973"/MPSG-UCSC/February - March 1974.
"Paintings and Drawings 1943-1976"/ AKAG, CAM, CGA, WMAA, LACMA, OMC/November 12, 1976 - November 27, 1977.
"Richard Diebenkorn: Works on Paper"/MoMA, New York (organizer): Nov. 16, 1988-Jan. 10, 1989; LACMA: March 9-May 7, 1989; SFMoMA: June 22-Aug. 27, 1989; The Phillips Collection, D.C.:Sept. 30-Dec. 3, 1989.
"Selections from The Marcia Simon Weisman Collection"/MOCA-BH/May 24 - August 30, 1998.
"Conversations"/MOCA-BH/September 15, 2002 - February 14, 2003.

By EDWARD WYATT
Published: November 20, 2008

LOS ANGELES — Faced with a severe financial crisis, officials of the Museum of Contemporary Art have had talks about a possible joint venture or merger with several other Los Angeles institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Broad Art Foundation and the University of Southern California.

The talks come as the museum’s endowment, which has been tapped several times in recent years to pay for continuing operations, has shrunk to less than $10 million, one of the lowest levels since the museum’s founding in 1979, according to people who have been briefed on the museum’s financial situation.

The museum’s troubles and its search for a rescuer come as museums around the country are tightening their belts because of the global financial downturn. The Museum of Contemporary Art recently announced that it was cutting its budget by about 10 percent and closing its Geffen Contemporary annex — which accounts for more than half of the museum’s exhibition space — for six months beginning in January.

Since the museum’s troubles were first reported this week in an article in The Los Angeles Times, museum officials have not spoken publicly about its financial status or possible relief efforts. The museum is not required to release financial statements for its 2008 fiscal year until May 2009.

In a statement issued after its board met on Wednesday, the museum said it was “exploring several options, and in doing so talking to many partners in the Los Angeles community.” All of its options, the statement said, “entail MOCA retaining its identity, programming and expanding its permanent collection.”

In the last 18 months, the endowment has fallen to less than $10 million, down from $19.8 million at the end of the 2007 fiscal year and from more than $40 million near the beginning of this decade, according to people who have been briefed on the museum’s situation but who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the figures publicly.

Eli Broad, the billionaire philanthropist who was a founding chairman of the museum and who has more recently been the largest donor to the Los Angeles County Museum, said in an interview Thursday that he had talked to officials of the contemporary art museum about a potential partnership that would ensure the museum’s independence.

“Our view and that of our foundation is it should remain an independent institution,” Mr. Broad said. “Clearly, the budget’s going to have to be reduced. And they are going to have to raise money and beef up the endowment. We want to help them do that.”

Michael Govan, the director of the Los Angeles County Museum, said he had also talked to the Museum of Contemporary Art about its future.

“There has been a lot of back-and-forth speculating about how we can work together,” Mr. Govan said, noting that the two institutions “have been talking for years” and worked together last year, with Mr. Broad’s financial help, to jointly buy a sculpture by Chris Burden.

Officials of the Museum of Contemporary Art have also approached the University of Southern California about a possible investment. A spokesman for the university said Thursday that “no proposals are on the table involving U.S.C.”

One arrangement that was discussed involved the university’s providing administrative support for the museum, which would maintain its separate financial status. The University of California, Los Angeles, has a similar arrangement with the Hammer Museum.

The museum has also said that it intends to step up its efforts to raise new money from donors, a plan that could be hindered by the current economic environment.

Extraordinary Art Auctions in Italy for Design 11-25


MILAN, Italy, Nov 21, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- At Pandolfini's Auction House, in Florence and Milan, two of the most important art auctions in Italy will take place. Two catalogues will be published for these auctions in Italy.
The first, devoted to Design, contains about 165 lots made between the 40s and 70s. Among the people in the auction: Gianfranco Frattini, with a Table mod No. 522, of 1956 (estimated 1.000/1.100 euro); Carlo De Carli, with a table of 1963 (estimated 3.500/4.500 euro); Gio Ponti with the famous "Ultra light" chairs, by Cassina Production of the late 50s; the Archizoom Associates, with several lots, including floor lamp Sanremo of 1968 by Poltronova Production (estimated 4.000/5.000 euro) and Sofa Safari, by the same production (estimated 8.000/10.000 euro); the Sofa La Cova by Gianni Ruffi of 1973 by Poltronova Production (estimated 13.000/16.000 euro); Ugo Betti, with the Chair Foemina of 1969 (estimated 1.200/1.4000 euro); Gae Aulenti with a Suite Locus Solus of 1970; Ettore Sottssas, a marble Demistella Console, by Up & Down production (estimated 4.000/5.000 euro); Gaetano Pesce with Sofa Sit Down of 1975 by Cassina Production, (estimated 2.000/3.000 euro). We would also mention Osvaldo Borsani, Paolo Buffa, Gianfranco Fini, Vico Magistretti, Ico and Luisa Parisi, Carlo Scarpa, and Toni Zuccheri.
Dedicated to Modern and Contemporary Art, the second catalogue contains 210 lots, with works of art from the 30s to nowadays. Among the performers are: Gino Severini (Cortona 1883 -- Paris 1966) with Danseuse, tempera on canvas paper (estimated 25.000/30.000 euro) and with Giovanni Pescatore of 1939, oil on canvas, (estimate 40.000/50.000 euro); Franco Gentilini (Faenza 1909 -- Rome 1981) with The Truck of 1954; Carlo CarrA (Quargnento 1881 -- Milan 1966) of a Marina with boats, oil on canvas of 1961 (estimated 70.000/100.000 euro); Virgilio Guidi (Rome 1981 -- Venezia 1984) Portrait of a mother of 1931 (estimated 25.000 euro).
The magnificent Crucifixion sur fond rouge, oil painting of the 60s by Marc Chagall (Vitebsk 1887 -- Saint-Paul-de-Vence 1985) (estimated 150.000 euro); a painting on canvas by Andr Masson (Balagny 1896 -- Paris 1987) of 1949 Hibou avec lievre (estimated 35.000 euro); a sculpture of 1966 reflected N.4, by Pietro Consagra (Mazara del Vallo, Trapani 1920 -- Milan 2005); an urban three-dimensional guerrilla, work of 1968 by the Spanish painter Rafael Canogar (Toledo 1935), (estimated 18.000 euro); also mentioned, a work of 1960 by the Japanese action painter Kazuo Shiraga, Mizu no oto (the sound of water), (85.000 euro); a painting of the analytical period by Claudio Verna (Guardiagrele (CH) 1937) (estimated 14.000 euro); Monument to the dustbin, work of art of 1990 by Mattia Moreni (Pavia 1920 -- Brisighella 1999), (estimated 30.000 euro); to finish a title less of 1970 (estimated 55.000 euro) by the Cuban Artist Wilfredo Lam (1902-1982).
This auction in Italy presents the production of some Italian contemporary artists. Among them, Salvo (Enna 1947) with a large painting format (200x150 cm), 1988 (estimated 30.000 euro). Also present at the auction some of the most significant artists of the Italian avant-garde, including Pino Pascali, with Mould, a rare work of art of 1963 (Bari 1935 -- Roma 1968, estimated 9.000 euro), Achille Pace, Vasco Bendini, Giuseppe Spagnulo, Giuseppe Tagliaferro and Claudio Olivieri with an Ipocromia of 1973 (100x150).
For more information visit: http://www.pandolfini.it
About Pandolfini Auction House
Pandolfini Auction House, specialised for over 70 years in all sectors of antiques (antique furnishings and accessories, Classical and Egyptian archaeology, antique paintings, sculptures and drawings, period costumes and accessories) operates on the domestic and international markets, also selling modern and contemporary objects and works of art, articles of design from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods up to the 90s, nineteenth century paintings, sculptures and drawings, jewellery, watches, silverware, applied arts (antique objects, carpets and tapestries, ceramics, porcelain and artistic glassware), fine wines and Oriental art.

London Auctions of All Things Russian


By L. MARGARET STUDER

RUSSIAN SALES dominate the coming week at London auction houses as paintings, royal Fabergé, imperial silver, porcelain and books come under the hammer.
[A red Faberg[eacute] silver-gilt, pearl and enamel frame ] Courtesy of Sotheby's

A red Fabergé silver-gilt, pearl and enamel frame with a miniature painting of Empress Maria Fedorovna of Russia, circa 1890; estimate:£60,000-£80,000.

At Sotheby's, Monika, Princess of Hanover, Countess of Solms-Laubach, is offering in a 100-lot sale a collection formed by Thyra, Princess of Denmark, Duchess of Cumberland (1853-1933). Many of the items were presents from royal relatives, including Thyra's sister, Empress Maria Fedorovna of Russia. The collection is expected to raise in excess of £1 million. Among the most charming items is a red Fabergé silver-gilt, pearl and enamel frame in the shape of a heart from circa 1890. The frame contains a miniature painting of Empress Fedorovna, who gave it to her sister for Christmas of 1905 (estimate: £60,000-£80,000).

Despite the current economic downturn, Sotheby's senior director Jo Vickery says "quality and rarity will sell." William MacDougall, director at the specialist Russian auctioneer MacDougall Arts Ltd. in London, estimates that 90% of buyers during London's two "Russian Weeks" (in June and November) are Russian. "There are still lots of Russians with lots of money," he says.

Bonhams is featuring another imperial gift: a silver-gilt and enamel tankard from 1889, given to American Wild West hero William Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, by Grand Duke Georgii Aleksandrovich, brother of Emperor Nicholas II. It's expected to fetch £80,000-£120,000.

Christie's has a very large and elaborate imperial silver soup tureen in the shape of a 14-gun warship. The piece was commissioned by Catherine the Great for the St. Petersburg Admiralty and used at table by her Black Sea Fleet. Made by Zacharias Deichman of St. Petersburg in 1766, the historic tureen is expected to fetch £400,000-£600,000.

Sotheby's has the painting "View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus" (1856), by famed marine artist Ivan Aivazovsky, a master of light and color (estimate: £2.5 million-£3 million).

An early 20th-century highlight at Christie's will be Natalia Goncharova's colorful "Still Life with Watermelons" (estimate: £1.5 million-£2 million). Goncharova holds the record for any woman artist at auction, achieved when her vibrant painting "Les fleurs" sold for £5.53 million at Christie's London in June.

For the first time at the London Russian art weeks, Christie's will offer post-war and contemporary art. Among the artists will be Oleg Dou, a young photographer, with "Neck" (2006-2008) from his series "Naked Faces." Estimated at £5,000-£6,000, the black-and-white image outlines a sculpturally beautiful face from the side with haunted eyes staring into the future.

Also keep an eye on the works of terra cotta sculptor Alexander Ney. His "Cranium" (2004), a head characteristically perforated with geometric rounds and squares, has a striking archaic yet modern quality. It's estimated to sell for £8,000-£10,000 at Bonhams.

MacDougall's has an exotic offering: 122 early 20th-century individual ink drawings by Constantine Somov for "Le Livre de la Marquise," an anthology of 18th-century erotic French poetry and prose (£1.5 million-£3 million).

According to the Wall Street Journal the art market has officially burst. With prices dropping 30 percent and auction houses' stocks plummeting, layoffs are inevitable. Galleries are closing. And the effects are rippling through the community of collectors, dealers, and the artists themselves.

Mary Boone keeps telling us that last week's disappointing auctions were actually relatively encouraging. Only 20 percent of works sold at auction '89 she says, so this, in comparison, is not so bad.

But what does this all mean for those who have funneled money into outrageously priced contemporary and modern art works in the past decade, hoping to flip them?

Well, it seems that the auction houses are trying to adapt to the new market, particularly in light of the auction of recently "terminated" Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld's collection of 15 postwar drawings that included works by Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, and Barnett Newman. Christie's estimated the works to be worth $20 million, and even went so far as to guarantee that sum to Mr. Fuld and his wife, Kathy. (Until very recently, guarantees were not uncommon.) But the works, sadly, ended up selling for $13.5 million, leaving the auction house $6.5 million in the hole (not to mention the commission they would've made on the higher price).

According to Sotheby's CEO William Ruprecht, those days are probably over.

From the article:

They're also likely to push more of the risk of selling art onto collectors. In recent years, in a booming market, auctioneers often offered sellers guarantees of minimum amounts -- but the auction house would profit on the upside. Mr. Ruprecht told the analysts that "going forward, we will generally not be using our capital for guarantees."

Sellers, of course, may not let the auctioneers off easy. They'll increasingly be requesting clauses in their contracts allowing them to take art off the block if market conditions change and promises regarding catalogue entries and the touring and exhibition of their works, says Jo Backer Laird, art-law attorney at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler and former general counsel of Christie's. If they're smart, she says, they'll insist that specific marketing proposals for their pieces be included in their contracts.

Better be smart and hire an art attorney.

Where is the Bailout Plan for the Arts?


by Cara Ober, Baltimore Art Examiner

I'm not going to hold my breath on a bailout plan for the arts. But I do feel like I need to point out that this recession is affecting everyone -- not just people who manufacture crappy cars.
Many professional artists I know base some, if not all, of their income on art sales. Hopefully, they will be able to tighten their belts, attend fewer residencies, and create works on paper. However, even those who teach are going to face a reduction in opportunities. I can see it already. Grants for 'special' programs aren't being granted, and this affects everyone who isn't tenured faculty. Art Galleries are closing and this is sad in itself, but also means fewer opportunities for exhibitions for artists. The mad cycle that is the art market is slowing down. On the bright side, maybe this means less second-rate art fairs?

Art is still a good investment, probably better than the stock market. We all saw Enron sell off their last, most valuable asset to pay back employee pensions - the art collection - when that company folded. Art Collectors will continue to buy, but will stick with blue chip artists for their collections, rather than unknown emerging artists. This, in turn, will affect who galleries are showing - safe stuff. And I am sorry, but Sol Le Witt does not need another show, last time I checked.

You can see where I'm going with this. But, I am trying to look at this whole thing as a 'correction' rather than as a depression. I am trying to see this downtime as a natural, and even good, part of the cycle. I am trying to see this as an opportunity. But for what?

I think we can all admit there were too many bad works of art selling for top dollar. When you read about art auctions in the big art houses, everything now is selling for well under the 'established' value and people seem shocked and outraged. I think the values, just like in real estate, were inflated. I think we were all a bit too obsessed with selling and the market. This should never supercede the making of good art, but sometimes it does. Sometimes a deadline overtakes inspiration and this is evident, whether we like it or not, in the work.



Maybe we all need to do less running around and less shows. I know I do. One possible outcome of this recession is a hunkering down, an inward search, and actually having time to work in the studio. Another outcome is that art communities will jump on the 'fresh and local' bandwagon which is overtaking food -- from the top down. If Baltimore institutions and top collectors can no longer afford to buy in New York, maybe they will invest in their own communities of fantastic artists right here. Opportunities for Baltimore artists like the Sondheim Prize and the Baker Artist Awards will take on an even larger role, in terms of supporting and growing the arts here in Baltimore and keeping young artists here.

It's not like Baltimore ever had an out-of-control art market anyway, but it could use a dose of reality just the same. Artists will keep making work because they have to and it is what they do. But hopefully they will become more discerning about where and when they put the work out there. Showing work is great, but making good work that satisfies and challenges is much more important. I predict an increase in quality, and hopefully of honesty, in the next few years of art-making and buying.

We don't have to give up, but we will have to get more creative. As it says in The Grapes of Wrath, "the corn could go as long as something else remained." What is that 'something else'? I am pretty sure the Joad family was not talking about flat screen TV's. I keep hearing that we all need to buy things to improve the economy. I think this is backwards. The 'something else' is most likely something you can't even buy.

We artists are creative and resilient. We don't need no stinkin' bailout plan from somewhere else! But we do need that certain 'something else' to find our way through new challenges. Luckily, it appears we will have the downtime, an opportunity, to search.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

How the Nazi Elite Plundered Europe's Art: Manuela Hoelterhoff

How the Nazi Elite Plundered Europe's Art: Manuela Hoelterhoff

Review by Manuela Hoelterhoff
More Photos/Details

Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- ``The Rape of Europa,'' which airs on PBS on Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. New York time, has a number of heroes and heroines. My favorite is Maria Altmann.

It took a lifetime, but finally in 2006 the Austrian government -- with much lack of grace -- returned a few nice paintings by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele that the Nazis had pilfered from her uncle's Viennese mansion during World War II.

Altogether, Nazi elites stole an estimated million-plus artworks in the strangest melding of extermination and aesthetics the world has ever seen.

``The Rape of Europa'' documents how the lurid appetite for art coexisted with an equally powerful urge to torment and destroy.

Klimt's glittering 1907 portrait of Altmann's aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, spent the postwar years thrilling crowds at the Austrian State Gallery in the Belvedere. The Austrians sure didn't want to see her go.

Altmann, born in 1916 and even in her ninth decade a glorious vision in lavender cashmere and pearls, speaks eloquently of their perfidy and her triumph.

Supposedly, her aunt willed her pictures to the Austrian state, a very ambiguous reading of the text and one that ignores the fact that when she wrote her will in 1923, she hardly expected her beloved country to turn into a happy outpost for murderers and thieves.

Hitler's Pretensions

The identity of Altmann's determined lawyer makes her victory even more satisfying: E. Randol Schoenberg, the grandson of composer Arnold Schoenberg, another Jew who fled Austria and ended up in Hollywood, near Altmann.

Narrated by actress Joan Allen, ``The Rape of Europa'' is based on the remarkable book by Lynn H. Nicholas, who provides learned, lightly caustic commentary, especially about the Nazi elite.

Hitler, for all his cultural pretensions, made his first visit to Italy at the invitation of Mussolini. He spent only a few hours driving around that other art capital, Paris, after his 1940 summer victory.

Soon enough, the city's Jewish dealers were disappeared along with their treasures. The Jeu de Paume became the holding pen for loot and the setting for another heroine, art historian Rose Valland. Hiding behind her bun and glasses, Valland secretly recorded the destination of thousands of art works in a diary that proved immensely useful after the war.

Pianos, Linens

Even modest Jewish families were stripped of everything from pianos to linens in an effort to wipe out their memory and improve the lifestyle in the Heimat. The stuff would be trucked to a depot near the Austerlitz train station, sorted and cleaned.

A heartbroken Parisian forced to work there as a child remembers finding a suitcase filled with photos of his doomed family.

Hitler wanted his hometown of Linz to be as fabulous as Paris. There's a famous model he kept until the very end with an acropolis-like grouping of temples devoted to books, opera and art.

All little Linz ended up with was the Hermann Goering Gas Works (renamed) and a concentration camp down the road.

Not all art was deemed worthy of a new life in the new Reich. Hitler personally ordered the shelling of Warsaw's castle, since he considered the Poles as subhuman as Jews, and enjoyed seeing the city in flames. Krakow was spared because it was deemed Germanic, though the looting was major.

Hitler's curators had priority, leaving Goering, his fat No. 2, sniffing eagerly in the wings. ``Rape'' includes archival photos of his country estate of Carinhall, every square meter festooned with stuffed animals and Old Masters.

Even when he knew the war was over, the field marshal sent long trains filled with ``his'' art south to subterranean vaults. At least he didn't blow everything up.

Bad Sports

``The Germans weren't good sports about losing the war,'' says historian Nicholas. In Florence, the onetime pals of the Duce destroyed historic bridges just because they felt like it on their way out.

In Russia, the Germans burned Tchaikovsky's manuscripts after turning his country home into a motorcycle-repair shop. The scenes from the Siege of Leningrad are among the most harrowing. Devoted museum employees packed up about a million artworks before the Germans starved the city for three years. After the first winter's thaw, 46 corpses were removed from the cellars of the Hermitage.

The irony not lost on anyone is that in defeating the Nazis and saving Europe, the Allies destroyed a good deal of Europe's cultural heritage. ``Rape'' tells the complex story of Monte Cassino's bombing and the ongoing attempts at repair.

At the end, the American army's ``Monuments Men'' roll into view, struggling to safeguard fragile landmarks and artworks in the chaotic aftermath of the Reich's collapse. They began the process of restitution and nursing back to health lovely buildings that had had no say at all in the carnage.

``The Rape of Europe'' is a production of Actual Films in Association with Agon Arts & Entertainment and Oregon Public Broadcasting. It was written, directed and produced by Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham. The co-producer was Robert Edsel, a Texas oil and gas man turned author whose splendidly illustrated ``Rescuing Da Vinci'' is an important addition to the literature of loot. Information: http://www.rapeofeuropa.com.

A Collector's Edition with seven additional hours of interviews and more footage will be released on Dec. 10. There is also an educational program featuring the film, for which the title has been changed to ``The Greatest Theft in History.''

(Manuela Hoelterhoff is executive editor of Muse, Bloomberg's leisure and arts section. Any opinions expressed are her own.)

Joan Giordano tonight 6-8pm NY


Opening Reception
547 West 27th Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Ph: (212) 239-1271

Joan Giordano
Serrano Contemporary

Wildlife Photography at its best




In December of 2000, Nick Brandt was in East Africa directing a music video for Michael Jackson. When the shooting for the video was complete, Brandt took some time off and visited some of the wildlife preserves. He took along a medium format camera and began to photograph the animals he saw from the car.

Now, years later, Brandt is out of the music video business. He devotes himself full time to photographing the animals of Africa.

Brandt’s approach to his work is unique…perhaps because he was never trained as a still photographer. Although he take photographs of wildlife, he is not really a wildlife photographer. He’s not interested in documenting the actual lives of real animals in the wild. Instead he creates romanticized images of animals in an equally romanticized setting.

His work tends to be either cinematic in composition or almost intimate portraits of iconic animals…or a combination of both. Brandt’s animals are idealized and unabashedly dramatic. They’re almost mythical in their perfection. Brandt creates these archetypal images deliberately; it is the heart of his art.

Brandt prefers to work close to the animals, usually in a vehicle. The vehicle is important not just for safety reasons, but because the animals are accustomed to vehicles; they’d run away from a human on foot.

He uses a Pentax 6X7 camera and only a few fast prime lenses (75mm, 105mm, 150mm and occasionally a 200mm). Those lenses allow him to get the narrow depth of field he finds so attractive. He shoots in black and white...unusual for wildlife. He frequently uses a heavy neutral density filter and often a red filter to darken the sky. Brandt claims he does very little photoshop manipulation of the image other than his signature vignetting and occasional adjustments to contrast and tint. Most of the unusual effects he obtains are, he says, created by trying odd things with the camera.

Brandt says, “I work in a very very impractical way - very manually - and lose a crazy number of potentially great shots with all the faffing around I do. But I do it because occasionally something great comes out of such impractical methods.”

A lot of wildlife and nature photographers criticize Nick Brandt. They call his work unrealistic, they claim he manipulates his images more than he admits, they say his images are sentimental, they say there is nothing natural about his view of nature.

And they’re right. Brandt’s photographs aren’t about nature at all. They’re not about real life. They are about depicting these animals as they exist in the minds of people throughout the world. Nick Brandt isn’t so much photographing animals as they exist; he’s photographing animals as we wish they existed. That’s his art.

Mark Rothko, Orange and Yellow, 1956

"I’m not an abstractionist. I’m not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on." - Mark Rothko

"There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it."
Henry Moore



“ Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth. ” — Pablo Picasso


Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Martyr Patricio Clito Ruíz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was an Andalusian-Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. As one of the most recognized figures in twentieth-century art, he is best known for co-founding the Cubist movement and for the wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and his depiction of the German bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, Guernica (1937).

Picasso’s work is often categorized into periods. While the names of many of his later periods are debated, the most commonly accepted periods in his work are the Blue Period (1901–1904), the Rose Period (1905–1907), the African-influenced Period (1908–1909), Analytic Cubism (1909–1912), and Synthetic Cubism (1912–1919).

In 1939–40 the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, under its director Alfred Barr, a Picasso enthusiast, held a major and highly successful retrospective of his principal works up until that time. This exhibition lionized the artist, brought into full public view in America the scope of his artistry, and resulted in a reinterpretation of his work by contemporary art historians and scholars.

Picasso’s final works were a mixture of styles, his means of expression in constant flux until the end of his life. Devoting his full energies to his work, Picasso became more daring, his works more colourful and expressive, and from 1968 through 1971 he produced a torrent of paintings and hundreds of copperplate etchings. At the time these works were dismissed by most as pornographic fantasies of an impotent old man or the slapdash works of an artist who was past his prime. Only later, after Picasso’s death, when the rest of the art world had moved on from abstract expressionism, did the critical community come to see that Picasso had already discovered neo-expressionism and was, as so often before, ahead of his time.

At the time of his death many of his paintings were in his possession, as he had kept off the art market what he didn’t need to sell. In addition, Picasso had a considerable collection of the work of other famous artists, some his contemporaries, such as Henri Matisse, with whom he had exchanged works. Since Picasso left no will, his death duties (estate tax) to the French state were paid in the form of his works and others from his collection. These works form the core of the immense and representative collection of the Musée Picasso in Paris. In 2003, relatives of Picasso inaugurated a museum dedicated to him in his birthplace, Málaga, Spain, the Museo Picasso Málaga.

The Museu Picasso in Barcelona features many of Picasso’s early works, created while he was living in Spain, including many rarely seen works which reveal Picasso’s firm grounding in classical techniques. The museum also holds many precise and detailed figure studies done in his youth under his father’s tutelage, as well as the extensive collection of Jaime Sabartés, Picasso’s close friend from his Barcelona days who, for many years, was Picasso’s personal secretary.

Several paintings by Picasso rank among the most expensive paintings in the world. Garçon à la pipe sold for USD $104 million at Sotheby's on 4 May 2004, establishing a new price record. Dora Maar au Chat sold for USD $95.2 million at Sotheby’s on 3 May 2006.

As of 2004, Picasso remains the top ranked artist (based on sales of his works at auctions) according to the Art Market Trends report.

The Picasso Administration functions as his official Estate. The U.S. copyright representative for the Picasso Administration is the Artists Rights Society.

"I've never believed in God, but I believe in Picasso." -Diego Rivera

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Artists Talk on Art - Panel at SVA


The Artist's Cut
A discussion of moving image art as a phenomenon both in fine art and the larger media worlds - where does it fit in, what defines it, what are its genres, where can it go- with the potential to affect both.

Moderator: Linda DiGusta, editor, Resolve40.com
Participants: Marcia Grostein, artist
Robert Ayers, artist and writer
Lee Wells, Ind. curator and co-founder of Perpetual Art Machine
Organizer: Linda DiGusta, editor, Resolve40.com


Friday, November 21, 2008
7-9 pm(doors open at 6:30pm)
School of Visual Arts
209 East 23rd Street, NYC
3rd Floor Amphitheater

Artists Talk On Art,
founded in 1975, is the art world's longest running panel discussion series. Over the years ATOA has presented more than 6,000 artists in more than 900 programs. The organization has accumulated one of the largest audio- visual archives on contemporary art.

Artists Talk On Art
email: mail@atoa.ws
phone: (212) 779 - 9250
web: http://www.atoa.org

Ann Lydecker, Director of Programming for Artists Talk on Art

Admission is $7,
$3 for seniors, students or SVA alumni.
Current SVA students, faculty and ATOA season pass holders are admitted free.

Perspective from Design Art London




Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery - Scandinavian design from the 20th Century with particular emphasis on rare modernist furniture and lighting.
Bredgade 32, 1260 Copenhagen, Denmark
T +45 33 32 38 37
www.dmk.dk
info@dmk.dk
Scandinavian Design and Decorative Arts 1920 - 1970


“Design”
is a many-facetted word that encompasses everything from the elaboration of technical issues in the plans for a man-made object to purely visual concerns about what it looks like. For philosophers, design implies a pattern and a purpose.

Today, however, “design” has become a cat-chall word referring to something with an artistic intelligence behind its conception, as in “designer furniture,” “design hotel,” etc. In the public consciousness, design has become synonymous with art. A good piece of design – whether it be a building or a teapot – is now seen as a work of art that just happens to have a purpose.

Design and art can no longer be kept apart. Like a good work of art, a good work of design can surprise, shock or sicken you, make you laugh or cry, but will never leave you indifferent.

Design comes in many packages, so to speak, and surrounds us in every moment of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not. And the art of design is not a recent invention. “Design contre Design,” the exhibition at Paris’s Grand Palais, offers examples of human attempts to turn useful objects into art over the ages, among them a pair of faience saltcellars from the Bavarian court dating from 1576 and a Biedermeier armchair from 1820, but we can go back much further back in the history of China or Egypt, for example, to find countless illustrations of this basic human impulse to be surrounded by beautiful objects.

Like art, design cannot be governed by any particular idea of “good taste”, such as that represented by a certain vision of elegant black, brown or beige decor. Good design comes in all possible shapes, sizes, colours and materials, from Wieki Somers’ animal-skull teapot with a fur cosy to the pure, geometric lines of a table by Josef Hoffmann or the beautiful simplicity of a chair by Jean Prouvé. Jeroen Verhoeven’s “Cinderella table”, also in the Paris show, is pure sculpture, as are the animal-shaped pieces by François-Xavier Lalanne, which make little pretence to functionality, and Zaha Hadid’s “Iceberg” bench.

Design objects are setting dizzying records at contemporary art auction these days, and collectors are rediscovering once-forgotten designers like Prouvé. And the taste of the public, notably in fast-growing economies like China, India and Russia, is rapidly becoming more sophisticated and discerning.

“The difference between the forgettable and the enduring is the artistry.” - Bill Bernbach

The International Herald Tribune recently hailed “the emergence of a new design-art scene in London”, and one of its manifestations is DesignArt London, which will showcase works by some of the world’s most renowned post-war designers, ranging from Prouvé and Le Corbusier to today’s superstars, including Marc Newson, Zaha Hadid, Ron Arad and the Bouroullec Brothers. DesignArt London will offer an exciting new platform for design as respected artistic medium.

Behind DesignArt London is a wealth of experience and expertise in the art world, represented by SOC (Société d'Organisation Culturelle), a Paris-based company dedicated to the organization of art fairs.

SOC was founded by Stéphane Custot and Patrick Perrin in 1996. These two dynamic young Parisian art dealers have earned a reputation not only for their high standards of professionalism in their respective fields, but also for their skilful organization of one of Paris’s most highly respected art fairs, the Pavillon des Arts et du Design, the 12th edition of which was held in April 2008 in Paris’s Tuileries Garden. They also founded Paris’s prestigious Salon du Dessin in 1991.

Stéphane Custot is the co-owner, with Waring Hopkins, of Galerie Hopkins-Custot, founded in 1984 and now one of the leading specialists in 20th-century art and design, notably presenting the work of Botero, Mondrian, Dubuffet, Rouault, Vlaminck, Léger, Picasso, Matisse, Calder and many others. The gallery exhibits regularly at some of the world’s most important art fairs, including Art Basel, Art Basel Miami, Tefaf Maastricht and La Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris.

Patrick Perrin, the director of SOC, is the scion of a family of distinguished French art and antiques dealers specializing primarily in 18th-century French furniture and objets d’art. After running the gallery on Paris’s Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré for many years, Perrin now devotes himself to the organization of art fairs and other projects through SOC.

Every detail of the organization of both DesignArt London and the Pavillon des Arts et du Design is directly handled by SOC, from the initial conception to the selection of exhibitors and the committee of experts, catalogue design, and communications with the press, thr public and the exhibitors. SOC also manages all of the fairs’ technical aspects from start to finish.

This one-stop shop approach to art fair organization guarantees both exhibitors and visitors a quality experience at every level.
Thanks to its expertise in art fair organization, SOC has also been tapped as the operator for other prestigious art events: the Moscow World Fine Art Fair, the Salzburg World Fine Art Fair and the Biennale de Monaco.
SOC will soon extend its reach across the Atlantic with the introduction of Pavillon of Art and Design New York in the near future.

The growing interest in design art goes hand-in-hand with the booming modern and contemporary art markets, inviting debate as to what separates art from design. Today, pieces of design are not only incorporated into contemporary art auctions but have also fetched record-breaking prices. DesignArt London will offer an exciting new platform for design as a respected artistic medium.

Galerie Downtown François Laffanour
18 & 33 rue de Seine
75006 Paris, France
T +33 (0)1 46 33 82 41
Website : http://www.galeriedowntown.com
Art nouveau - Art Déco - Années 1940-1950

Buying Art Online: Web Galleries Bring Wave of New Buyers into the Art World


Hema Guha, "Togetherness" (2003). From PicassoMio ($2,375)

NEW YORK—It’s getting much easier to argue that online art galleries are significantly shifting the way art is bought and sold around the world.

Motivated by the chance to view hundreds, even thousands of works at a time, traditional collectors are turning to Web galleries in larger numbers.

“A lot of our clients are very experienced buyers in [bricks-and-mortar] galleries who have, in the last couple of years, transferred their interest in buying art to the Web,” said Allan Majotra, co-founder and managing director of PicassoMio, which operates two regular galleries in Spain and one of the world’s largest virtual ones, PicassoMio.com.

Added Angela Di Bello, director of the Agora Gallery in New York, which also operates the online gallery ArtMine.com, “For collectors who are too busy to gallery hop, the Internet can save a great deal of time. A collector can view hundreds of works of art in minutes, something impossible to do in a gallery.”

But an even bigger change that Web sites are helping to engineer is the introduction of thousands of new collectors—many of whom have never set foot in a traditional gallery—into the art market.

For neophytes, the Web is a much less intimidating way to buy and can be an attractive solution for those who have a strong interest in contemporary art—and can afford to buy it—but are uneasy about visiting traditional galleries.

“Most of our clients are first-time buyers of art,” said Roi Ophir, CEO of ArtToGet.com, which specializes in Israeli artists. “They love art, but until now they were a little afraid to buy. They see the Web as a friendly tool to get information and gain entry to the world of art. Most are spending $1,000 to $3,000 [on their first purchase].”

Rene Goodman, a spokesperson for Buy-Original-Art.com, which maintains a listing of sites that sell art online, said that 70 percent of the people who have contacted the site for advice over the past three years have never visited a regular art gallery. Because traditional galleries don’t always make the art-buying experience comfortable for new collectors, Goodman said, “many beginner collectors are increasingly turning to the Internet to explore and purchase original works of art.”

“The Web is a great tool for beginning collectors,” agreed Paige West, founder of the Mixed Greens gallery in New York, which also has an excellent (and e-commerce equipped) Web site. “Browsing online is a great way for beginners to train their eye. You can go online to find out what you like and don’t like.

“And the Internet offers a lot more affordable art,” West added. “For people who are nervous about making their first purchase, the Web is a good place to start because you’re generally not spending unmanageable sums of money.”

Online galleries are also a great convenience for those who live far from the centers of the art world. “Although we have [clients] from areas such as New York, Los Angeles and Paris, most of our buyers don’t live in major cities,” said Ophir, who also recently opened a bricks-and-mortar gallery, Dollinger Art Project, in Tel Aviv.

Of course, both experienced buyers and new ones can benefit from the fact that online galleries have an infinite amount of virtual wall space and can show an unlimited amount of work from any number of artists. “The selection online is incredibly phenomenal,” said Majotra.

And while actual galleries, with rent to pay, can be understandably leery of mounting a weeks-long exhibition of work by an emerging artist, it’s much less risky to devote a section of a Web site to new talent. This means online galleries can be a great place to discover artists not showing anywhere else.

“Our site has hundreds of promising artists not represented by [bricks-and-mortar] galleries,” said Ophir. “We’re providing both a stage for those artists and an opportunity for audiences to purchase their work.”

Buying Art Online: 10 Tips to a Better Web Buying Experience



Driving to Tomorrow
Digital Print, edition of 50
12" x 18"
USD $785

Online galleries have many benefits. They offer a huge selection of artists, a more comfortable and convenient environment for new buyers—are helping to drive a shift in the way art is bought and sold.

But while buying art online does have certain advantages over trekking from gallery to gallery, it also poses a number of unique challenges as well. Here are 10 tips to help you maximize your Web shopping experience.

Tip #1: Beware the Junk

For better, but usually for worse, anyone can set up an online gallery—and thousands have. Inevitably, this translates into a lot of very bad art and can mean wading through mountains of schlock to discover any gems.

“The unsupervised, sometimes wild nature of the Internet still presents some problems in buying and selling original art,” said Rene Goodman, a spokesperson for Buy-Original-Art.com, which maintains a listing of sites that sell art online. “Some of the finest dealers are online, introducing brilliant artists and works that couldn’t be reached otherwise. Unfortunately, the great majority—as much as 90 percent—of art-selling Web sites are un-curated and offer amateurish art far below the standards of what can be found in the brick-and-mortar market.”

Agreed Paige West, founder of the Mixed Greens gallery in New York, which also maintains a highly regarded Web site: “When we started MixedGreens.com in 1998, we actually had a lot more competition back then. A lot of the sites had an open-door policy [with regards to artists] and that led to a lot of bad-quality art. The sites that have survived are selective and take more of a curatorial approach.”

So the solution to the schlock problem—if you don’t trust your own eye—is to look for sites that have some sort of sophisticated screening process with regards to the art they display. Sites that have curators or juries generally promote that fact heavily; those that don’t are generally immediately obvious.

Tip #2: Let’s Get Physical


In addition to sites that are curated, another way to ensure a positive experience is to stick with sites that also operate an actual, bricks-and-mortar gallery.

“All the online galleries I would recommend also have a physical space,” said West. “This is key. When you know the business has an actual gallery space, this means those running it most likely are more knowledgeable about art and the sales and shipping process.”

Tip #3: Virtual Sites, Actual People

No matter how appealing the art looks in a virtual space, be sure there is an actual person on the other end of the computer.

“Most credible companies provide detailed information about themselves,” Goodman added. “It is imperative that they have a physical address and a customer-service phone number—I wouldn't buy if they don’t.”

Before buying, contact the staff by phone or email and see how well (and how quickly) they respond.

Tip #4: Demand Authentication

As when making a purchase in a bricks-and-mortar gallery, buyers should demand some proof of the work’s authenticity. PicassoMio.com, for example, a site recently given the “Best of the Behemoths” award by ArtInfo, has this policy stated on its Web site:

“Most of our artworks are signed (and numbered, in case of editions) by the artist. If the artwork is not signed, a signed Artist’s Authenticity Statement may be available upon your request. This document certifies the artwork’s authorship, the title, year of creation, and dimensions. … Further, we can also provide you with an Independent Party Authenticity Endorsement with your purchase.”

Have a healthy suspicion of sites that don’t offer a similar authenticity standard.

Tip #5: Establish a Budget, Define Your Goals

“The Internet offers a very wide range of artworks in all price scales, so it is very important to establish a budget before embarking on the shopping expedition,” Goodman said. “I would also advise buyers to be clear about their goals for purchasing art—whether it is to develop a collection that may have some investment value or just to decorate one’s walls.”

And as with any art purchase, Angela Di Bello, director of the Agora Gallery in New York, which also operates the online gallery ArtMine.com, reminds us: “Always buy what you love.”

Tip #6: Do Your Homework about the Work, the Artist and the Site

When you spot a work you like, ask for as much information about the work (how, for example, does it tie into the rest of the artist’s oeuvre?) and about the artist (schooling, exhibitions, sales history, etc.) as you can get.

And make sure the Web site you’re dealing with is a legitimate business and offers secured purchasing. Check out what the press has written about the site, and read the buyer testimonials (and ask if you can actually contact a buyer or two for an in-person recommendation).

And because a buyer in the virtual world has the disadvantage of not being able to see the physical work, no question should be considered off-limits. “[When buying online], one has the [right] to ask questions one might not feel comfortable asking in a physical gallery,” said Allan Majotra, co-founder and managing director of PicassoMio.

Tip #7: Don’t Rush

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, especially since the Internet offers instant gratification to buyers. But Goodman said it’s important to take it slow, especially for beginning collectors.

“My first advice to anyone before buying art online is to decide not to purchase anything for at least a month,” she said. “This month should be spent doing intensive online exploration—browsing as many online galleries as possible, looking at ads and pictures in art magazines. This is an important process that teaches the potential buyer to recognize his own unique taste in art and to educate his eye to distinguish what he likes, what he finds himself connecting to on the emotional level and what he is returning to again and again.”

Tip #8: Many Happy Returns

Every expert we asked for online buying tips stressed this point: Make sure the online gallery allows you a chance to change your mind once a work arrives and to return it, after a reasonable period (usually one week), without any hassles.

“I simply wouldn’t deal with anyone that doesn’t [offer a reasonable return policy],” Goodman said.

Majotra pointed out that PicassoMio allows buyers to return an artwork up to seven days after they receive it. “Ninety-nine percent of them keep it,” he added. “They tend to like it even more once they see it in person.”

Tip #9: Stay Low

Mixed Greens’ West advises that when buying editioned work, which is much more common online than original pieces, one should focus on work in editions of 10 or under.

Tip #10: Don’t Forget the Real World!

This is maybe the most important point of all. While gallery hopping online has many advantages, and can become addictive, nothing can replicate viewing a work in person—and getting to know gallerists, artists and your fellow art lovers at openings and exhibitions is certainly one of the great rewards of collecting.

As West observes, “the big downside to buying online is that experiencing art in person is a lot more fun.” By Bryant Rousseau, Jacquelyn Lewis