Pall Mall Art Advisors & Hagerty Insurance Present:
Next Generation Collectors
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021 – 2PM EST / 11AM PST
In our next 30 minute webinar Anita Heriot and John Wiley will be speaking on the subject of Next Generation Collectors.
TOPICS DISCUSSED
- Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) & their impact on the market
- What are Millennials interested in and where are they buying
- 2021 Bull Market Art & Cars List
PANELISTS
EVENT DATE
- Thursday, May 13, 2021 – 2pm EST / 11am PST
EVENT LENGTH
- 1 hour
FORMAT
- Live interactive webinar
The Expert’s Perspective: Where is the Value?
TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2021 – 4PM BST / 11AM EST / 8AM PST
Delve into the world of value as leading specialists from The Fine Art Group and Pall Mall Art Advisors debate their respective fields, and where they see lasting value in the current art market.
Is it Post-War & Contemporary or Impressionist & Modern?
Join Us Tuesday, May 4, 2021 – 4pm BST / 11am EST / 8am PST
PANELISTS
EVENT DATE
- Tuesday, May 4, 2021 – 4pm BST / 11am EST / 8am PST
WEBINAR LENGTH
- 1 hour
FORMAT
- Live interactive webinar
PART II: ART FINANCING TODAY
The Fine Art Group is proud to present The Expert’s Perspective: A Three-Part Series, produced in partnership with Risk Strategies.
Over the coming months, The Fine Art Group will be releasing a three-part series exploring the current market, the increasing popularity of Art Finance and the art of pricing Fine Art.
Hear from the experts on the current themes from the world of art finance. This event will demystify the process and uncover what lies ahead in the art lending industry.
Panelists
Further Reading
- Spear’s Magazine Lists Philip Hoffman & Freya Stewart as Top Professionals in Art Advisory and Art Finance
- Artnet Art-Secured Lending Brokerage Program
“Bank of America suggested investors seek out funds like the Fine Art Group, Classic Car Fund, and the London International Vintners Exchange Fine Wine Fund Index (FWIFFWID), in addition to REITs and commodity funds if they’re looking for real asset exposure.”
In a recent note, Bank of America’s chief investment strategist, Michael Hartnett, reports that real estate, commodities, and collectibles could outperform stock market returns over the next decade.
Hartnett notes that real assets are a more overlooked part of the market that may offer investors protection against inflation while diversifying their portfolios, which is why he encourages investors looking for real asset exposure to seek out funds such as those offered at The Fine Art Group.
To read the full article, and to learn more about Michael Hartnett and Bank of America’s advice to the smart investor, please click here.
PART I: ART MARKET UPDATE
The Fine Art Group is proud to present The Expert’s Perspective: A Three-Part Series, produced in partnership with Risk Strategies.
Over the coming months, The Fine Art Group will be releasing a three-part series exploring the current market, the increasing popularity of Art Finance and the art of pricing Fine Art.
Please join our Senior Art Team as they provide a timely and informative market analysis following the March auctions in London and other recent public and private transactions.
Panelists
WATCH NOW
Further Reading
- The Asking Price: Understanding Value 1
- Morgan Long Speaks with Barron’s About Guaranteed Works at Spring 2023 Auctions
- Guy Jennings Speaks With The Art Newspaper
23rd March saw the first major evening auctions of 2021 following an unprecedented year of upheaval and change. The auction houses attempted to centre their sales around the March London calendar slot, albeit later, in an effort to restore the old schedule. Upon the eventual announcement of the timeline for the loosening of social controls, Phillips decided to delay their 20th Century and Contemporary sales to mid-April to allow for more ‘In person’ viewings for their sales. Sotheby’s and Christie’s chose to continue with their schedule which meant private collectors were unable to physically view the sale but art trade were. In keeping with the houses’ ever creative approach to our current situation, on some occasions they opted to bring works to local collectors, to help stimulate as much pre-sale interest as possible given the circumstances.
All of the houses opted for mixed category evening sales, perhaps a signal insert that they struggled to get consignments, however, not a trend we see declining, having long been in play before Covid. The Leonardo sale at Christies being a key turning point, it is a fantastic stimulus for other areas of the market, including Old Masters and Modern British, that lack the same marketing budget and often command less global attention. The strategy paid off in both cases. Sotheby’s Modern Renaissance sale, with artworks from 1500 to present day, totalled £81.6 million (hammer) against a presale estimate of £60- 86.5 million and 87% lots sold. Whilst Christie’s totalled £100.5 million (hammer) against the presale estimate of £66.6 – 96.7 million. Also further bolstered by a £40.4 million (hammer) sale total from Olivier Camu’s Surrealist sale, traditionally held this time of year.
The mixed category format facilitated some extraordinary prices for artists not traditionally included in the evening sale setting. Notably a new record for British sculptor Frank Dobson whose work rarely comes to auction. The female torso which once belonged to Alberto Giacometti, surpassed its estimate of £250,000 to sell for £2.04 million (including premium), smashing the 2005 record of £338,500 (premium). Czech artist František Kupka, known for his association with Kandinsky and Malevich also reached a new record of £7.55 million (including premium), tripling the low estimate.
Despite March usually being a London slot, both houses decided to spread their sales across multiple locations, in keeping with the international relay style auction approach developed last year. Sotheby’s held a Paris Impressionist and Modern auction before the London sale, in an effort to mirror the volume offered by Christie’s with their Surrealist sale. Totalling €30.4 million above the presale estimate of €19.3 – 28.9 million, the sale was a remarkable success with 91% lots sold. The relay tactic, stitching Paris evening sales to marquee auction calendar moments, seems to be attracting significant global bidding. To attest to the interest in the Sotheby’s Paris sale, the London sale start time was delayed due to the high volume of bidding in the Paris segment, with even in person room bidding for a Renoir sculpture with harked back to an almost immemorable time. The most notable result was €13.1 million (premium) for an 1887 Van Gogh canvas, against an estimate of €5 – 8 million, acquired by the Reuben family. Despite the slight hiccup with a phantom online bidder, the work saw bidding from New York, Paris, London and Hong Kong, proving that Paris is a solid stage for major lots.
72 x 48 in. (183 x 122 cm.). Sold for HKD 323,600,000 in We Are All Warriors: The Basquiat Auction on 23 March 2021 at Christie’s Hong Kong.
Christie’s also opted to hold a one lot Basquiat Hong Kong auction, despite technically being taken by Jussi Pylkkänen from the rostrum in London, the sale was indeed in Hong Kong dollars. Belonging to collector Aby Rosen, the 1982 warrior painting saw three bidders from New York and Hong Kong compete before it went to Jacky Ho in Hong Kong. It was a solid indicator of the continued appetite Basquiat, this latest result marked a $30 million profit on the seller’s 2012 investment; also providing positive foundations the forthcoming 1982 Versus Medici painting to be sold at Sotheby’s in New York in May, estimated to fetch between $35 – 50 million.
The Christie’s consignment hammered within estimate at HK$280 million ($36 million) or HK$323.6 million ($41.8 million) including premium, which ultimately beat the recent Richter, to become the most expensive piece of Western art sold in a Hong Kong auction. The success of the lot was a sign of the continuing strength of the Asian market off the back of seventeen records at Christie’s December Hong Kong auction and Art Basel’s recent Art Market report confirming China overtook the US to become the largest auction market in 2020. Significant Asian bidding on roughly a quarter of the lots across the sales attested to this and to make sure these sales remained accessible to global collectors these ‘evening sales’ were in fact held at 1 and 3pm respectively to allow for more social hours.
The Banksy market showed no signs of slowing with a new auction record at Christie’s for a painting donated to Southampton hospital, sold to raise fund for the NHS. The work hammered for a staggering £14.4m hammer (£16.76 million with premium) against an estimate of £2.5 – 3.5 million and was chased by six bidders before selling to Tessa Lord’s client on the phone. Sotheby’s also reached an extraordinary price for a signed edition of Girl with Balloon selling to an online bidder for £1.2 million (premium). Despite being catalogued as an artist proof edition of eighty-eight, it belongs to a wider edition of 150, and an unsigned edition of 600, and speaks to extreme level of demand for Banksy at the moment. Interestingly, these works saw no US bidding with collector interest based solely in the UK or Asia.
In demand primary market artists also continued to see the most spirited bidding with several artist’s auction debuts selling for well beyond their estimates. Despite Issy Wood’s ‘auction debut’ in fact taking place the day before with a successful result via Loic Gouzer’s fair warning app, herself alongside Joy Labinjo, Amoafo Boako, Claire Tabouret, as well as continued demand for last year’s breakout auction star Matthew Wong all ignited the early parts of the sales.
An overall sense from the last few auctions was that bidding was thin for lots at higher price points and from more traditional or established segments of the market. And whilst this rang true for some pieces from these sales, including a Francis Bacon selling on just one bid at £4.3m with a rumoured estimate of £8-12m, several lots did extremely well. Perhaps reflecting that collectors feel more confident transacting at these price levels now the art market has weathered the past 12 months and there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Two major Picasso paintings at Christie’s both sold significantly above their last auction results. Works by Fautrier saw serious bidding across both houses, with Christie’s reaching a new record and Olly Barker at Sotheby’s taking some twenty minutes over a 1966 painting which sold for nearly quadruple the high estimate to Martin Klosterfelde’s client for £3.1 million (premium).
Other high prices included Edvard Munch’s Embrace on the Beach, which sold for £16.3 million (premium) to a Hong Kong client, above a £12 million high estimate and an Arshile Gorky landscape, Garden in Sochi, set to sell for a high estimate of £2.8 million, instead it sold for £8.6 million to Bame Fierro March’s client.
These results proved encouraging for the first marquee moment of the year for the art market. The three-month gap certainly helped build appetite and demand. The continued lack of physical art fairs works in the favor of the auction houses, the sheer size of their organizations has allowed them to tour major artworks, arrange delivery for physical viewings and remain open for trade which has offered them a significant advantage to the now monotonous experience of an online viewing room. As the year progresses it will be interesting to see if this level of bidding will be sustained but with such solid infrastructure in place to conduct these global sales with ease, there is an overwhelming sense that the location of sales is no longer a barrier to bidders. Collectors are attracted to the works no matter where and this yields excellent results as they continue to capture the interest of the international collector base.
Image 1: Image courtsey Sotheby’s; Image 2: Image courtsey Sotheby’s; Image 3: Image courtsey Christie’s; Image 4: Image courtsey Christie’s; Image 5: Image courtsey Sotheby’s; Image 6: Image courtsey Sotheby’s
Further Reading
Demystifying NFT’s: A Conversation with Vladislav Ginzburg, Founder and CEO of Blockparty
THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 2021 – 1PM EST / 10AM PST
With Christie’s monumental sale of Beeple’s The First 5000 Days – the market is abuzz with questions regarding NFT ownership. Tune in to The Fine Art Group’s exclusive conversation with the Founder and CEO of Blockparty, Vladislav Ginzburg about the future of NFT’s, the digital art movement and his views of their enormous market potential.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
– What exactly does fungible mean?
– How do you secure a digital signature?
– How is ownership saved on blockchain ledgers?
– Are NFT’s a speculative bubble or a new funding model for art and entertainment?
SPEAKERS
ABOUT GINZBURG & BLOCKPARTY
Ginzburg leads the company’s building of a blockchain-agnostic platform for collectible NFTs among the art, music and sports genres. Blockparty launched their MVP in August 2020 with a number of mainstream oriented drops, including first digital artworks by Ryan Keeley, Harif Guzman and MadSteez, the first 3lau/Slime Sunday drop, Adventure Club, and others. The platform is re-releasing in March with an integration to mint onto the FLOW blockchain. Earlier, Ginzburg was Chief
Further Reading
- The Scoop: The Next Generation Collector #14
- Reintroducing The Scoop: The Next Generation Collector
- The Scoop: A Bi-Weekly NFT & Digital Art Newsletter #12
“A lot of our clients are entrepreneurs, and they use leverage across their businesses and personally,” said Freya Stewart, CEO of art finance at The Fine Art Group. “They have a lot of valuable capital tied up in their art collections and they want to release that capital for other uses.”
Following a surge in loan requests due to the pandemic, Freya Stewart discusses the appeals of leverage to entrepreneurial collectors who are using their artworks as both loan collateral and an investment product.
To read more of Freya’s comments in this CNBC article, please click here.
Debunking Common Appraisal Myths
Read article published by Mary Pontillo, “Tips for Obtaining a Fine Art/Collectibles Appraisal”.
Pontillo’s article covers basics of the process like cost of appraisal, Appraiser certifications, and the information your appraisal should include.
Check out the article here on the LinkedIn.
OUR SERVICES
Understanding value is the cornerstone to effectively managing a collection – and at The Fine Art Group, it is this understanding that enables us to work as trusted fiduciaries for our clients, and their objects. We are experienced providing appraisals for a wide range of purposes, and are also specialists in unique and complicated appraisal scenarios.
Further Reading
- El Niño 2023: Are Your Art & Collectibles Protected?
- Watch Art, Cars & Collectibles: How to Mitigate Risk Before a Disaster Hits
- Why Appraising Valuables is Important & How to Find a Qualified Appraiser
The Fine Art Group are proud to announce that our Founder & CEO Philip Hoffman has been selected as a Top Recommended Art Adviser in the 2020 edition of Spear’s 500.
As a leading wealth management authority, their annual publication is an essential guide to the market’s best private client advisers, and we are thrilled to be recommended to their UHNW and financial services community.
To learn more about Philip Hoffman and The Fine Art Group in the 2020 Spear’s 500 rankings, please click here.