Happenings

Royal Treatment

The Times of London reports on efforts to pass an artist’s royalty in the UK. Not surprisingly, the British Art trade says this will send everything to Switerland or New York.

Spin-Out?

Not all auction markets are alike. Such would be the conclusion from the weak prices Damien Hirst’s spin paintings have received on Ebay.The Guardian has the story.

Soft Landing Ahead?

Ever since the May Impressionist and Modern sales, we’ve been toying with the idea of a soft landing for the art market. As Robert Frank pointed out , the middle and lower reaches of the art market have clearly corrected like every other luxury market out there. But the combination of strong prices for the best work and auction houses reining in the number of lots they offer, suggest the market might be able to manage its own correction and avoid a real dislocation. As time goes by, we’ll try to back up this anecdotal claim with real analysis. In the meantime, here and here are two stories that offer some rumblings of the same idea.