Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

Aboriginal Art: Stop the Madness!

by

The Australian reports that one Aboriginal art auctioneer, Paul Sumner, is calling for a moratorium on the ever-expanding sales within the cratering market:

“The auction houses are putting too many works on the market,” Mr Sumner said. “When Sotheby’s was doing it very successfully, they were doing one auction a year. It’s all about supply and demand, and demand sinks if you increase supply.”

Mr Sumner said his company, Mossgreen, would not stage an indigenous art sale this year on account of the arrival in Australia of the international auction house Bonhams, plus two annual sales each by Sotheby’s and D+H.

Over-selling isn’t the only problem facing the Aboriginal Art market. There’s also the prospect of increasing supply just as the market is glutted in this post from ABC News in Australia:

Tim Jennings, owner of the Mbantua Art Gallery, says the market will be tight for another few years. […] “The next generation are coming along and … the interest is more economic for them, where they can improve their living standards,” he said. “I think the glut is coming in the next generation rather than the older generation.”

Aboriginal Art Market Paints Dismal Picture (The Australian)

New Generation Fuels Aboriginal Art Glut (ABC News)

Chinese Contemporary Up; Aboriginals Down

by

Art investing is something of a national sport in Australia though the buying is generally concentrated in Australian art. Now we get the first hint that the collapse of the market for Aboriginal art may be less connected to government schemes to make sure artists receive a royalty from secondary sales than competition from other regional schools.

Tamara Winikoff, director of Australia’s National Association for the Visual Arts, makes the connection between the decline in Australia’s market for Aboriginal art and the rise of Chinese Contemporary:

“Investment can be faddish,” she said. “Certainly we know that there’s a very, very substantial interest in contemporary Chinese art. That seems to be presenting something of a challenge to Indigenous Australian art in terms of the major collectors.”

Chinese Art Infringing on the Indigenous Market (ABC News)

Australians Couldn't Care Less About Australian Art

by

Nicky McWilliam was looking for a gallery assistant for his Australian gallery only ti discover that no one has much interest in Australian Art:

At interviews, there were works on the gallery walls by significant Australian artists including John Coburn, Gary Shead, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Brett Whiteley and Grace Cossington Smith. Only a handful of interviewees could identify any of the artists or works. Interviewees showed little knowledge of or interest in Australian art and art history; most said their courses offered Australian art only as an adjunct or secondary field of knowledge. […] It is possible to complete a graduate and even postgraduate degree in fine art, visual art, arts administration or art theory at an Australian university without acquiring even the most basic knowledge about Australian art or art history.

Universities Are Letting Australian Art Down (Sydney Morning Herald)

Australian Art Market Looks Forward to Better Year in 2011

by

The Sydney Morning Herald reports some projections for this year’s hoped for Australian art market rebound:

Auction results have also been patchy. After dismal interest in its Aboriginal art auction in July, Sotheby’s Australia fared even worse last month, selling only $625,620 worth of indigenous art, against pre-sale estimates of $1.7 million to $2.4 million.

Australian art sales are expected to reach $105.8 million this year, says Australian Art Sales Digest, up on last year’s total of $88.1 million but below the $114.7 million of 2008.

Galleries See Red Over Sales (Sydney Morning Herald)

Australian Art Market Lags Western/Asian Rebound

by

The Sydney Morning Herald explains that Australia’s art market hasn’t rebounded in 2010 the way European and Asian markets have.

The Australian market, by contrast, is creeping back ever so slowly, and is far from the heady takings of 2007, when a total of $175 million in sales was made. This year, the total art auction turnover was $102.6 million – better than 2009’s $88.1 million but nothing to crow about.

As art market analyst Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios points out, when the $102.6 million figure is adjusted for inflation, it is comparable to the market’s size back in the late ’90s.

One reason for the falling numbers has been the confusion created in the market by the shuffling ownership of the Sotheby’s name and the aggressive move by Bonhams to defend their foothold in the country. Where that particularly comes to bear is the Aboriginal art market where falling sales volumes have weakened the overall market art market totals and Bonhams is launching an assault by creating a standalone Aboriginal department:

The Aboriginal art market endured a particularly onerous slump – the year’s total auction takings for Aboriginal art slipped even further from 2009’s low of $10.9 million to a mere $8.34 million. Adjusted for inflation, that takes the Aboriginal art market back to levels 10 years ago.

Art Auction Houses Feeling Stretched (Sydney Morning Herald)

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