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Questioning the Art Market – artmarketblog.com

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:04:07 +0000

Questioning the Art Market – artmarketblog.com

Mugrabi family

I was recently asked some questions about the art market for a magazine article and thought I would share my answers. Hope you enjoy !!!

1. Last year there was a trend for portrait pieces, why do you think this is?

Although portraiture fell out of fashion, as it has done on several occasions, the fact that there is so much scholarly, academic and art historical support for the genre means that there will always be a market for portraits – a market that can only continue to get stronger each time the genre comes back into fashion. The long term value of a work of art is linked to a certain degree to the extent to which one can disassociate the work of art from the artist, and the extent to which one can assign value to the actual characteristics of the art object as an independent entity. Because portraits require a high level of technical skill to get right, and because the face is universally recognisable and has universal characteristics, the portrait is able to be more easily assessed using a more objective approach. This makes the portrait a more attractive option to art investors and collectors during times of financial crisis, such as we experienced last year, when long term safety and justifiability become important factors.

The value that can be placed on portraits because of their status as historical documents is the sort of future proof intrinsic value that will always remain with the portrait and cannot be disassociated from the portrait. Regardless of what happens to the art market or to the reputation of the artist in question, classical figurative works of art (portraits in particular) will always have significant technical, historical and documentary value. The fact that the physical characteristics of figurative portraits are so comparable across the whole genre, and so easy to rank, also means that they are also easier to value when compared to other genres.

2. Can auction houses or art market analysts predict trends in the market?

Predicting art market trends is becoming more and more difficult as fine art becomes a more globally recognised and accessible status symbol, and a more widely accepted alternative investment. As a much wider range of people from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds become active in the art market, a situation has arisen where there are so many different groups of art market participants with different agendas, that trying to foretell the buying behaviour of each group is extremely hard. To predict trends these days requires a very deep knowledge and understanding of the behaviour of art buyers as well as an extremely well developed trend sensing radar.

3. Do social, political or cultural issues affect market trends?

Social, political and cultural issues all have a profound effect on art market trends. Fine art is often used as a tool for making statements regarding social, political and cultural issues. A consequence of this is that people’s perception of such works can often be altered by their own beliefs or by important events of the day.

4. Do you think that the sale of a piece of art is just at the end of the day due to personal preference? Can buyers be strategic?

Buyers can definitely be strategic when it comes to purchasing fine art and are doing so at an ever increasing rate due to the greater level of acceptance of the benefits of approaching art as an investment. However, because everyone has a personal taste when it comes to fine art, a strategic approach is best undertaken with the guidance of an unbiased art advisor or via an art investment fund where the works that are invested in are chosen by a group of experts.

5. What may / may not determine the end sale price at an auction?

There are a myriad of different factors that can determine the final sale price of a work of art being sold at auction. A few, however, are much more influential than others. One of the most important factors to consider when buying or selling a work of art at auction is how many people are likely to be competing for that particular work of art. All it takes is two determined bidders for the auction estimate to fly out the window and the final price to skyrocket beyond all expectations. The energy of an auction sale can become all consuming and cause even the most timid of individuals to become super competitive. Another important factor that can affect the final sale price is the estimate given to a work of art. An estimate that is too high can discourage people from bidding for a work and an estimate that is too low can cause people to become suspicious about that work of art.

6. Do you think the artist’s name behind the art itself has a large factor into how much a piece would sell for? Can this limit the art in any way?

The commercialisation of the contemporary art market has evoked a scenario where artists are often looked upon as celebrities and performers who are expected to act in a certain way. Art buyers who view art as a status symbol will often view the artist’s social reputation and level of fame as being crucial factors when it comes to deciding whether or not to purchase a work or art. A result of this is that artists often have to conform to the desires of rich art buyers, and produce works that they will like, which can severely limit the work that the artists can produce.

7. What is the significance of branding and the correct marketing for pieces of art?

In theory, a work of art should really sell itself. However, the reality of the situation is that the conceptual nature of a large amount of the contemporary art being produced, combined with the increasing commercialisation of the contemporary art world, has created a situation where artists need to be marketed correctly in order for their work to be properly appreciated and stand out from the rest of the crowd. Without correct branding and marketing, an artist is likely to find it difficult to sell their work and differentiate themselves from the already saturated contemporary art market.

8. The Mugrabi family are said to own a monopoly on the Warhol catalogue. Do you feel that a collector can be excessive? Can a person own too much art?

The problem with collectors who monopolise the market for a particular artist is that those collectors can then manipulate the rate of supply and demand and consequently manipulate the price of that artist’s work. This sort of situation can have a seriously negative impact on people’s perception of an artist’s work and, as such, I would never such behaviour by collectors.

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications

Art Bankers Take Advantage of Falling Prices- artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:16:46 +0000

Art Bankers Take Advantage of Falling Prices- artmarketblog.com

The interest in structured art investment programs has continued to remain relatively high considering the recent concerns voiced by some regarding the state of the art market. Since the beginning of the year there have been several new art investment programs launched which suggests that the categorisation of art as an asset class has not been damaged by the recent market jitters. In fact, with plenty of bargains up for grabs there is probably no better time for art investment funds to be buying works.

The most significant of the new programs is the so called “Collection of Modern Art Fund” which is a product of the UK based Castlestone Management, a privately owned independent fund manager. According to the fund website (http://www.collectionofmodernart.co.uk) “Collection of Modern’s Art’s investment philosophy is focused on building a diversified portfolio of artists to provide medium to long-term appreciation based on thorough research and the proven strength of the market for these artists. The portfolio composition is a key component to ensuring the returns of the fund are in line with the market. With this achieved, the fund can act as a real asset, increasing in value with money supply and inflation and thus providing an inflation hedge. In the initial selection process, the manager aims to identify works of art for the portfolio that broadly represent the Art Market Research 100 index”

The second major art investment program to be launched is a collaboration between the China Merchants Bank and the China Contemporary Art Foundation. China Merchants Bank (CMB) have taken what is a slightly different approach to art banking by offering their clients the opportunity to put down a deposit on a work of art chosen a group of experts and take possession of the work of art for a period of twelve months. If after the twelve month period the client decides that they want to purchase the work of art they can do so or if they do not want to purchase it they can return it and receive a full refund. According to one of the bank’s representatives who was interviewed by the People’s Daily Online Newspaper, “Some banks hire art investment consultant and bring clients’ money to auction house. We are not doing that, because it easily slips out of control. We offer free transportation and as long as the artwork is well preserved, our clients will at least break-even”

Adding to the options for keen art fund investors is Phillip Hoffman’s The Fine Art Fund Group Ltd (http://www.thefineartfund.com/) who have indicated at the beginning of the year that they would be starting a new fund to take advantage of the fall in price of many works of art. Since the beginning of the year Hoffman has further indicated his intentions to raise $100 million dollars of the next year to purchase works from private and institutional collections that are up for sale. According to a report from the Financial Times, the group is currently looking at purchasing two major art collections one of which is owned by a Spanish bank and the other by a manufacturer. After postponing their plans for a dedicated Indian art fund creatively titled the Indian Fine Art Fund due to the current instability of the market for Indian art, it is good to see this new initiative from Hoffman.

Investing in Social Art Projects – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:47:38 +0000

Investing in Social Art Projects – artmarketblog.com

Trust Art artist Jason Eppink

A new project called Trust Art (http://www.trustart.org) which is described as “A stock market for cultural renewal” has recently been launched by the founders of Fame Game (http://www.famegame.com). According to the Fame Game website “FAME GAME is a rapidly-growing website that maps and analyzes your social connections and media attention to help you promote meaningful ideas, people, and organizations in culture. FAME GAME creates public-facing “social network” profiles for the 150,000+ most visible players in the New York media based on their cultural footprint”. The Fame Game mission is to mission to figure out how these players work together in the real world, and bring that model online which can then be used to give emerging artists, business leaders and personalities information about the way people use their fame to get attention for the things that they care about. The driving force of Fame Game and also of Trust Art is the concept of Social Capital which is defined as the pattern and intensity of networks among people and the shared values which arise from those networks.

The Trust Art project is a sort of interactive art fund that gives people the opportunity to invest their money in one of ten social art projects by ten different artists. Shares in each of the projects are available for $1 each with a minimum investment of $1 and no maximum investment although I presume that the most money anyone would want to invest would be the total cost of the project. The money invested goes towards the completion of the project as outlined by the artist on the Trust Art website. Once the project is completed, the finished work is auctioned off and the proceeds are split 50/50 between the artist and the share holders. All investors are encouraged to promote the project that they have invested in so that more people invest money and so that the project receives media attention and becomes more popular. The idea behind the promotion side of the concept is that promoting the project and increasing it’s popularity will increase it’s value and the return to shareholders once the work is auctioned off.

The biggest problem that I can see with the whole Trust Art concept is the works of art themselves which are not exactly what one would consider to be investment grade works of art. Each of the ten proposed works are more what I would call conceptual installations that are the sort of works people go to see at museums or at public galleries and not the sort of works that people invest in. As an example, one of the artists, Facundo Newbery, will construct a self-sufficient home solely out of garbage and shipping containers collected from the streets of Brooklyn. Throughout the project and after its completion, Facundo will offer a transparent look into his techniques for recycling urban waste so that others may do the same. The object (auction artifact) that will be auctioned is listed as a handmade home in the tropics which doesn’t really seem like something that many people would be interested in purchasing. Other “auction artifacts” include a dance performance, a video installation, 5 photographic portraits, an antique fountain repurposed to flow with perfumed water and an original building facade reimagined by street artists. The other problem with the project is that the artists themselves aren’t really all that well known but I suppose the purpose of the site is to enlist the help of the investors to make the artists and their work well known.

Of all the projects the most viable, most tangible and most investment worthy is “The Documentary Starring Everyone in the World” by Jason Eppink. According to the Trust Art website “Jason will collect and assemble an extensive photographic database, the contents of which resemble the age and appearance of the world’s 6 billion people. The images are then assembled into a documentary that plays 9 images per frame and runs over the course of two and a half weeks in various global locations” The object that will be auctioned is a video installation representing 6.7 billion people. Several of Eppink’s past projects such as “Pixelator” and “Take a Seat” have been very successful and received plenty of press attention which is a good sign for potential investors. You can see more of Jason Eppink’s work at http://www.jasoneppink.com

For more information on the Trust Art project visit http://www.trustart.org

Osian’s Art Fund Emerges as High Yielding Asset Class in Global Meltdown – artmarketblog.com

artforprofits — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:14:16 +0000

Osian’s Art Fund Emerges as High Yielding Asset Class in Global Meltdown – artmarketblog.com

Osian’s, today presented the 5th Six Monthly Disclosure Report (10 July 2008 – 9 January 2009) on behalf of the privately placed closed-ended Osian’s Art Fund (OAF). The Report establishes that the Osian’s Art Fund is one of the few investments providing a positive rate of return, more than 10.59% CAGR (post taxes) over the last 30 months, holding its own with relative stability, during the worse financial meltdown in global history.

In the current scenario, while Gold has emerged as the highest yielding asset class providing over 12.47% CAGR, followed by Debt Fund at 10.98% CAGR, the Osian’s Art Fund is only marginally behind (refer Attachment 1). The credibility of well managed, high quality art as an asset, for serious institutional investments, has now clearly emerged.

Mr. Neville Tuli, Founder-Chairman, Osian’s, said, “Today, we are close to achieving our first integrated global platform whereby the dual responsibilities of building great knowledge bases hand in hand with creating systematic wealth can be united on sustainable, accountable and transparent platforms. It will always be work in progress but the proximity of the bridge-building exercise is now clear for most to see.”

The Osian’s Art Fund, set up under the Indian Trusts Act, launched its first privately placed scheme Contemporary-1 on 10 July 2006, raising a corpus of Rs. 102.4 Cr. The Fund, a close-ended scheme with a lock in period of 36 months was open to investors only by private placement and the minimum investment was Rs.10 lac and then in multiples of Rs.5 lac.

The Fund attracted 656 investors from all over India. The top 10 cities from which the highest Osian’s client response was received were Delhi NCR (31.4%) followed by Mumbai (27.1), Kolkata (10.2%), Bangalore (8.8%), Chennai (7.9%), Hyderabad (3.9%), Surat (2.2%), Baroda (1.7%), Pune (0.9%) & Ahmedabad (0.8%). In totality, the Osian’s client base extended to 39 towns & cities, showing the national scale reach and interest. Out of the total number of investors about 82.72% had ventured into the area of investment in art for the very first time, though they were aware of Osian’s as an Auction House and Archive. Also, out of the total number of investors, 82.75% are individuals, 10.07 % are corporates and 7.18% are firms.

The Fund (as on 9 Jan 2009) has invested in a number of artists with a very well diversified portfolio based on their historical significance. These include the Progressive Artists Group (PAG) (20.92%), a Focus on Abstraction (17.20%), Calcutta Group & Painters (16.74%), a Figurative Focus (non PAG) (15.22%), Contemporary Art (8.33%), a Figurative Focus (Bengal) (6.17%), Cholamandal Artists (4.05%), a Figurative Focus (Delhi) (2.96%), Sculpture (2.78%), National Art Treasures (1.54%), Baroda School (1.11%) and Others (2.97%) (refer Attachment 2) V.S. Gaitonde, M.F. Husain & Akbar Padamsee are the three leading artists with the largest allocation.

High quality Indian art is more and more being seen as a credible asset, with many advantages over other assets. The Auction Sales turnover has taken a great leap from INR 133 millions in 1999 to INR 5527 millions in 2008, having achieved a growth of 51.26% CAGR.

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Questioning the Art Market – artmarketblog.com

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