Artnet Reports on the Print Market

Deborah Ripley has this smart, detailed report on the recent print sales in New York:

The final tallies from both houses showed that this new market has shifted radically from previous years: Christie’s sale on Oct. 28-29, 2008, totaled $8,165,663, roughly 62 percent of the value of all the lots in the sale, and a sell-through rate of 61 percent. Sotheby’s did a little worse on Oct 30-31, 2008, totaling $8,325,317, about 52 percent of the value of its sale, and a sell-through rate of 58 percent.

Overall, many works saw price corrections, especially those by artists whose prints had seen stupendous increases in value over the past few years. The biggest loser was Andy Warhol, whose decline was confirmation of a trend that Pop dealers had noticed over the past year. Warhol prices dropped at least 30 percent overall, and in some cases more.

But don’t cry for Andy, there’s still life left in his massive market:

The good news is that Sotheby’s sold one of Warhol’s “Marilyn” portfolios of ten multicolored silkscreens for just over $1 million ($1,022,500). This is the third highest price ever achieved for a Warhol price at auction, proving that “Marilyn” is still a big draw for collectors.

Ripley gives a detailed tour of the world of prints that’s well worth reading in depth. But the conclusion is summed up here:

Phillips contemporary print chief Cary Leibowitz predicted that the day of the phone-book-sized catalogue has passed. “Right now there are too many works, and not enough bidders,” he said. “Next season’s offerings will be substantially smaller.”

The New Print Paradigm (Artnet)