Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

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

Russian Art Market Collapse Forces Change

December 16, 2015 by Marion Maneker

Katya Kazakina reports that the Russian art market has finally reached a breaking point under the strain of low commodity prices and sanctions. According to Kazakina, Christie’s is making a change:

Christie’s is ending standalone sales of Russian art in New York, the company said, and Mark Moehrke is leaving as head of its Russian works of art department, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

“The market has shrunk, I am afraid,” said William MacDougall, whose London-based MacDougall’s specializes in Russian art. “Russian collectors are not buying as much as they were a year or two ago.”

At least one dealer, however, says the problem is more emotional than financial:

“I had one rather wealthy Russian client in recently and he said, ‘I feel poor because of the sanctions,”’ said Peter Schaffer, co-owner of A La Vieille Russie, an antique store on Fifth Avenue. “A lot of it is a mental state, not a physical state. This particular gentleman could buy most of Manhattan.”

Russian Art Is Latest Oil Casualty as Auction Houses Pull Back (Bloomberg Business)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Why the Wealthy Buy Imperial Objects: ““Emperor Qianlong has used it, now I’ve used it.”Why the Wealthy Buy Imperial Objects: ““Emperor Qianlong has used it, now I’ve used it.”
  • Beijing Auction for Chinese Realist PaintingBeijing Auction for Chinese Realist Painting
  • Christie’s London Imp-Mod Feb ’12 = £97.8mChristie’s London Imp-Mod Feb ’12 = £97.8m
  • Rediscovered Tom Thomson & $3m Borduas Leads Heffel Spring SaleRediscovered Tom Thomson & $3m Borduas Leads Heffel Spring Sale
  • Why Talk About Sotheby’s Stock When Earnings Are Almost Here?Why Talk About Sotheby’s Stock When Earnings Are Almost Here?
  • Rembrandt SpottingRembrandt Spotting

Filed Under: General

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
  • David Hockney's $20m Pacific Coast Highway & Santa Monica
  • Tony Podesta's Secret Art Buying
  • Four of Picasso's Women Valued at $28m Come to Christie's from Rose-Walters Collection
  • How to Chant Like an Auctioneer
  • Norman Rockwell's Not Gay. But Is He a Great Artist?
  • Rare Photo Album by Dutch Street Photographer Bought at Auction by Rijksmuseum
  • Basquiat's Last Girlfriend
  • Roy Lichtenstein’s Top Ten Auction Prices
  • Christie's Announces $70m Picasso Self Portrait
  • 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