Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Who Are the Players in Old Masters

December 16, 2009 by Marion Maneker

The Economist‘s coverage of the Old Master sales paid particular attention to the dealers in field. The auction houses may have succeeded in drawing in collectors directly in other fields but Old Master works–with their tricky attributions–are still dominated by dealers who buy for clients or stock. A dealer can buy a picture a turn around and sell it in part because their willingness to risk their own capital is a powerful form of validation that the work is authentic and esteemed. That, or it is the sign of a dealer with very strong nerves and a poker face. Bullets are quotes from the Economist:

  • Konrad Bernheimer, who heads a four-generation Old Master firm
  • Philip Mould, founder of Historic Portraits and better known as the BBC’s “art detective”
  • Johnny van Haeften, the leading Dutch specialist in London
  • Alfred Bader, a rich American art-market broker and former chemist
  • the heirs to two important art-dealing businesses, William Noortman and Simon Green.
  • Other dealers proved nearly as determined in their own specialities. Simon Dickinson, a London dealer with connections in the British (and especially Scottish) aristocracy, bought Sir Edwin Henry Landseer’s five-foot-long romantic Highland clan scene
  • Luca Baroni and daughter: The Baronis are known for their courage, and their private client list; in July 2008, again at Christie’s, they paid a record £12.6m for a little caprice by Jean-Antoine Watteau that had been found in an English country house.)

Opportunity Knocks (Economist)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Di Donna Opens Gallery with an Abstract BangDi Donna Opens Gallery with an Abstract Bang
  • Salaam TokyoSalaam Tokyo
  • Scattering Your CollectionScattering Your Collection
  • Flesh Fresh for FantasyFlesh Fresh for Fantasy
  • London Property Attracts Safe Haven Investors, Many of Whom Are Art BuyersLondon Property Attracts Safe Haven Investors, Many of Whom Are Art Buyers
  • European Austerity Leaves Art Exposed to PredatorsEuropean Austerity Leaves Art Exposed to Predators

Filed Under: Dealers

About Marion Maneker

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

Top Posts

  • Keith Haring’s 1989 Retrospect Comes to Sotheby’s London Prints Sale
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Sotheby’s Offers Pop-Culture Memorabilia, from Nike to Yeezy, in New Series
  • Rauschenberg’s Buffalo II Leads Mayer Collection at Christie’s
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • Mapping a Career in the Art World
  • Rare Apple-1 Computer Available from Christie's Private Sale
  • Re-discovered John Constable Painting at Sotheby's in December
  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor