Everything’s up for grabs at the London Art Fair as dealers get aggressive to move their stock. The Independent‘s Arifa Akbar gets some good quotes to illustrate the trend:
Though gallery owners denied “bargain basement” prices were being employed as a desperate measure to sell their wares, several of the 112 art galleries – a record turn out in the fair’s 21-year history – admitted to having lowered their prices, and said they were more “flexible” over discounts.
Jonathan Burton, director of the fair, said he had noticed greater “negotiability” at the fair. [ . . . ] Conor Macklin, the director of Grosvenor, which was among the major galleries at the fair, said: “Five years ago, if I bought a picture for £100, I would be happy to sell it for £130. Two years ago, I would be unhappy if it sold for £300 because it was a crazy market. This time around, I would sell the work for £120. We are open to discounting, and though we’ve always done that, we’ll be doing more of it now.” He added that while recent shows had attracted greater numbers of people, sales had remained relatively slow.
Art Fair Prices Even Fairer This Year (The Independent)
