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Is France Still Suspicious of the Art Market?

April 16, 2012 by Marion Maneker

The Los Angeles Times explores the curious state of Contemporary art in France where there seems to be a growing interest in young French artists, something new since the time of Yves Klein. German collector Thomas Olbricht kicks off the discussion:

“It’s interesting because I went to China, Turkey, India to look for art, but not to France,” said Olbricht, who used to come to Paris for art history. “Now I have learned that I also have to look for French contemporary art.” […] But to others, there is still doubt that much has changed since a state-funded system held the reigns over which artists were promoted abroad and tended to scoff at the importance of the international art market. For years, state institutions “had a tendency to prefer more intellectual artwork based on concepts, and this was done in detriment to other types of works,” notably painting, said Nathalie Heinich, art sociologist for the National Research Center for the Sciences in Paris.

Although many say those days of stronger public support are past, sociologist Alain Quemin disagrees. “In France, there is suspicion of the [art] market,” which is considered too closely associated with commercial art, he said. A sociology of art professor at the University of Paris-VIII, Quemin says the importance of French artists abroad has essentially stayed the same over the last decade.”They have practically disappeared from the major international museums like MOMA or Tate Modern.”

According to Quemin, the last widely recognized French artist both in terms of market price and presence in major collections was Yves Klein, who died in 1962.

Reviving the French contemporary art scene (Los Angeles Times)

France Opens the Gates to Auction House Private Sales

July 13, 2011 by Marion Maneker

Artinfo explains the auction houses’ success in getting a new law passed in France that will allow private treaty sales thus buttressing Paris’s position in the global art market:

A new law liberalizing auction house sales has just been adopted by the French parliament. Proposed by the Senate in 2009, the law will allow auction houses to conduct sales by mutual agreement, i.e., private sales between the seller and buyer. […] The law brings France into line with other European countries and England, which already allow auction houses to handle private sales. France’s share of the auction market has been declining, and the French government said that the new law will “stimulate the French market,” according to Europe1. […] Auction houses could also conduct private sales through holding companies, which was the practice at Artcurial. Private sales represent five percent of Artcurial’s sales, 10 percent at Christie’s France, and 20 percent at Sotheby’s France. “It’s developing, because we have a huge client base, but it’s mostly in cases of rare objects,” Christie’s president Ricqlès told Les Echos.

After Heavy Lobbying From Sotheby’s and Christie’s, France Passes Law Allowing Auction Houses to Conduct Private Sales (Artinfo)

France's Bad Reputation

September 1, 2010 by Marion Maneker

If the spate of high-profile art thefts in France weren’t bad enough, France is getting more bad publicity in the Telegraph. It comes from traditional rivals in the UK  like Josephine Oxley, a curator for English Heritage, who doesn’t like to lend works across the Channel:

Mrs Oxley, who is head of visitor relations at Apsley House, the first Duke of Wellington’s home, said she would not be keen to see valuable items exhibited in France. Referring to some of the house’s most precious works of art, she said during a tour of the property last week: “We wouldn’t lend that to the Louvre. We don’t know what state we’d get it back in.” She added: “They’ve got a history of damaging items or putting them in a cupboard and forgetting where they’ve put them.”Continue Reading

Art Thefts Well-Organized but Lack Business Sense

August 28, 2010 by Marion Maneker

The International Herald Tribune takes a long look at the rings of art thieves who turn out to bear some resemblance to the fantasies of popular culture in that they’re sedulous in their planning and preparation. But, once again, we’re reminded that no matter how well-planned the thefts, selling the works remains terribly difficult. This suggests that the great lost works maybe truly lost instead of hiding in some secret inner sanctum of an unscrupulous collection:

In the murky global black market for stolen art, France’s many museums are prime hunting grounds. While the number of thefts from French museums has fallen from a peak of 47 in 1998, an average of 35 museum thefts have occurred annually over the last 15 years.

They have prompted a wealth of conflicting theories that generally point the finger at a shifting underworld of diversified criminals who operate in fluid cells, share information about potential buyers and available art for sale, and carefully study their museum targets before striking.Continue Reading

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