The muted Impressionist & Modern sales in New York raise the real possibility that investment-grade sector of the art market has lost some of its demand. When you think about it, there’s a certain macro-sense to all of this. During the height of the deflationary moment from 2009-2011, many business owners were still generating a great deal of cash and saw no place in the financial universe to store it.

Prominent investors were extolling the value of art as a strong-box. But as the worst of Euro crisis has subsided (for now) and corporate earnings seem stalled, there may simply be less demand for storing value in art; therefore, there’s less demand for blue chip Picassos & Monets.

Then, again, Bloomberg announces the launch of another art fund. This one heavily skewed toward the asset management side of the business instead of being driven by a strong art thesis:

“Tangible assets remain firmly in investors’ focus,” Raymund Scheffler, the manager of Berenberg Art Advice and head of the bank’s Dusseldorf branch, said in an e-mailed release. “Because their value moves independently of classic investments like shares, bonds or even real estate, an art investment can complete every well-structured portfolio.”

The bank will cooperate with museums and collectors to identify top-quality artworks, according to the bank’s statement. The Fine Art Fund Group, an art investment company established in London by Philip Hoffman in 2001, will advise it on acquisitions.

Beckham Speedboat Sale; Chinese Auctions Shrink: Art Buzz (Bloomberg)