Class of 2007: Sotheby’s Imp Mod Eve Sale

Speculators are back in the market and they’re making money. At least they did at tonight’s Impressionist and Modern sale at Sotheby’s. Fresh to the market wasn’t a prerequisite for strong showings and big profits. The Caillebotte led the way nearly doubling the consignor’s money in three years.

Kandinsky too netted $2.5m even starting at a boom-level price. A little continental arbitrage helped the Chagall, though even though the work was bought in Japan in 2007, one of Sotheby’s Japanese staffers was bidding for a client on the other end of a telephone.

We know the sellers were speculators only because none of the works were sold at a loss and the two of the three failures were priced well above the previous purchase.

Next week we’ll see if the Contemporary market is as forgiving.