Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

Is It 2008 in the Art Market Again?

February 7, 2012 by Marion Maneker

Scott Reyburn has done some great reporting in the advance of this week’s sales in London. Following Christie’s CEO Steve Murphy’s strong statement aligning his company’s 2011 results with investment buyers, we read about a number of new buyers chasing return.

These are worrisome trends. Late buyers chasing news reports of past deal-making is a good sign of an unstable market. The last time we saw this kind of behavior, it was the Summer of 2008 and one of the art advisors quoted below bought a Monet Nymphéas for $80m:

  • “A lot of new money has come into the market in the last six months,” Michael McGinnis, Phillips’s head of contemporary art, said in an interview. “In October, a client we’d never met before saw a work on view at Claridge’s and then went on to buy it in New York in November for more than $5 million.”
  • “Since the Tate retrospective, the Richter market has gone up 40 percent,” the New York-based dealer Christophe Van de Weghe said in an interview.
  • “People see the headlines in newspapers after the auctions and think, ‘I want to get in on this,’” the London-based art adviser, Tania Buckrell Pos, said. “A lot more buyers with an investment point of view are coming into the market.”

Rothko Boosts $611 Million Auctions as Price Rises Lure Sellers (Bloomberg)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • FOCUS ON: PHOTOGRAPHYFOCUS ON: PHOTOGRAPHY
  • Christie’s South Asian Mod + Cont = $8.57mChristie’s South Asian Mod + Cont = $8.57m
  • I'll Show You Mine, If . . .I'll Show You Mine, If . . .
  • Fisk Gets Crystal Bridges Money; Prez Complains Too Much Set Aside for ArtFisk Gets Crystal Bridges Money; Prez Complains Too Much Set Aside for Art
  • Does Christie’s Want to Hold Auctions in Iran?Does Christie’s Want to Hold Auctions in Iran?
  • Owner Sues Timothy Sammons Over Proceeds of Van Gogh SaleOwner Sues Timothy Sammons Over Proceeds of Van Gogh Sale

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

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

  • 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
 

Loading Comments...