“A true real asset art loan (meaning a loan secured solely by art, without extensive borrower financial assets/liquidity tests) is very attractive for owners of high value art (and jewelry) because it’s a very straightforward way of releasing capital in short order, at a time where access to fast liquidity is so valuable for many people.”
CEO Art Finance and Group General Counsel of The Fine Art Group, Freya Stewart, speaks to Patricia Lee at Withersworldwide and discusses bank loan liquidity opportunities and current art loan challenges.
Read the article in full here.
DESKTOP APPRAISALS
The “desktop” indicates the appraiser provides a value based on information that is provided at the appraiser’s desk. Clients or their advisors can send electronically, via mail or direct upload, the relevant details which will be placed in our proprietary collection management system and valued by our appraisal team.
In order for our appraisers to conduct a remote appraisal, please provide our administrative team with cataloguing information and photographs.
Click here for a downloadable list of requirements for a desktop appraisal.
Once we have the essential information, our appraisers will provide you with a value and a pdf appraisal document.
The Fine Art Group can provide desktop appraisals for any asset.
REQUIREMENT FOR A DESKTOP APPRAISAL
ART APPRAISALS
- Name of artist
- Measurement inside the frame (sight)
- Photograph of entire painting, signature, back (if possible), all receipts or gallery labels
- Medium (for e.g. oil on canvas, oil on board, print)
- Ownership and purchase history of the artwork
JEWELRY APPRAISALS
- Name of brand/designer
- Description of jewelry
- Photograph of jewelry from various angles (including stamps, engravings, stones)
- GIA report
- Ownership and purchase history of the jewelry piece
OTHER VALUABLE ASSETS
- Photograph of object
- Dimenions of objects
- Ownership and purchase history of object
Virtual Consultations
For prospective clients that have some technological awareness, The Fine Art Group can organize virtual visits to discuss what clients own to determine the appropriate risk management strategy.
The Fine Art Group provides complimentary schedule reviews to make sure that clients are insured appropriately and insight into only the assets that require reappraisal.
Contacts
Western region – Anita Heriot, President
Eastern & Midwest region – Colleen Boyle, SVP & National Sales Director
South East region & Gulf Coast – Shane Hall, Senior Advisor & Appraiser
Appraisal inquiries – Kate Molets, Director of Appraisals
Dear Clients and Friends,
In an effort to provide more context and insight into the current state of the tangible asset market, The Fine Art Group is providing a Market Update Live One Hour Webinar scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 at 10 am pst.
PANELISTS
TOPICS DISCUSSED
- The State of the Spring Auction Market
- The Role of Online Sales
- Alternative Assets and the Market
- Private sales
- Art Insurance and the impediments to ecosystem of the art market
This webinar is interactive.
Please send questions in advance to Jgarlic@pallmallartadvisors.com. Participants will also be able to ask questions using the chat box during the webinar.
*Due to the impact of the corona virus on phone lines, it is recommended that you join via the computer.
The Fine Art Group offers bespoke advisory services for all tangible assets.
We have preferred terms for several select categories where we have identified specialty selling venues that consistently have the highest results for the particular object.
Our experienced team of advisors conducts full market analytics on the object to determine the best method of sale.
- American Art
- 20th Century Design
- Numismatics
- Fine Jewelry & Watches
- Native American Art
- Fine Books, Maps & Manuscripts
- Entertainment & Sports Memorabilia
- Western Art
- Baseball Cards
CASE STUDIES
If selling at auction we ensure it is sold in the correct specialty venue to net the highest return. An example of this is highlighted below. This work sold for $50,000 in a general Fine Arts sale. When re-offered a year later in the appropriate annual Orientalist sale in London it sold for $179,000, more than tripling its previous result.
Stanislaus von Chlebowski
At Prayer, Hagia Sophia
Oil on panel
18 x 12 in.
Pall Mall Art Advisors follows the market for all tangible assets including fine jewelry. We alert our clients on when is the best possible time for sale. The market is especially responsive right now for colored diamonds.
Unmounted Fancy Intense Orangey Pink Diamond
Estimate: $100,000-$150,000
Realized Price: $200,000 (with Buyer’s Premium)
Further Readings
- Ten Reasons “Going in Alone” at Auction is a Mistake
- 10 Reasons to Work with an Advisor for a Successful Sales Process
The Fine Art Group is honored to be in contention for the Best Lifestyle Management Award at the prestigious Private Asset Management (PAM) Awards 2020.
The PAM Awards exist to recognize the top investment professionals, wealth advisors, legal firms, consultants and other key service providers in the private asset management space.
The Fine Art Group sends our congratulations to all the winners!
At The Fine Art Group, we advise collectors and their financial and legal advisors on the strategic, long-term management of their collections of art, jewelry and collectibles.
Our team understands the complexity of owning, buying and selling tangible assets like no other, allowing us to function as our clients’ advocate at all times.
Whether providing Appraisal, Advisory (Buying or Selling) or Tangible Asset Management services our clients find our team and our network of more than 50 vetted experts to be a trusted resource.
We are a vetted partner with varied institutions such as High Net Worth Banking, Lifestyle, Accounting, Insurance and Wealth Advisors.
In 2020 we celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Fine Art Group. Twenty years ago, I left Christie’s to launch the first institutional art fund. Today I’m proud to say that the Group has grown into a global market leader in the art world with a global team of over 30 professional staff acting for 140 clients in over 20 countries. We have advised and traded over $1.3 billion in value of artworks, with an additional $3 billion of private collections valued in just 3 years. While much has changed in the last twenty years, we’ve always remained true to our company values: offering preeminent art expertise, real transparency, independent, unconflicted, discreet, and innovative services to both the world’s leading art collectors and art novices and focused art investors alike.
LAST YEAR
January marked our much publicised acquisition of London based Falcon Group’s art-secured loan book, strengthening our long-term commitment to being the leading art finance provider to collectors and owners of high-value art globally. The acquisition marked a significant consolidation in the art finance market.
In June, via our Agency business we brought the landmark Maharajas & Mughal Magnificence to auction at Christie’s, New York. After a global tour of six cities and a marathon 12.5 hours of bidding, the collection realised a record-breaking $109,271,875 and was 93% sold.
Throughout the year, we have continually grown our business globally. Now, with representatives in China and Hong Kong, the United States, Switzerland, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, our network of collectors and art professionals is more far-reaching than ever before.
LOOKING AHEAD
As we look to the next decade, I am excited about developing our international art advisory, art agency, art investment and art finance houses. This year will mark the launch of our blue-chip art valuations service.
The Fine Art Group looks very different from the company I founded two decades ago. I am grateful to our exceedingly loyal clients, colleagues, and friends who have supported us from the start.
Yours,
Philip
Colleen Boyle, Pall Mall Art Advisors’ Senior Vice President and National Sales Director, makes an appearance in the true crime art documentary Real Fake The Art, Life and Crimes of Elmyr de Hory.
The National Arts Club in New York City will be hosting a special filmmakers’ screening February 5, 2020. Pall Mall Art Advisors would like to encourage you to register for and attend this special event.
Real Fake: The Art, Life and Crimes of Elmyr de Holy
A Film by Jeff Oppenheim
The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park S
New York, NY 10003
February 5, 2020 – 8 PM
Elmyr de Hory was one of the most notorious forgers. He is alleged to have painted thousands of “fakes,” many of which still hang in major museums and private collections worldwide. Having eluded prosecution from Interpol, Scotland Yard and other authorities, veteran filmmaker Jeff Oppenheim re-opens the case in this investigative caper that sheds new light on the depth of Elmyr’s crimes.
This event is free and open to the public, however an
RSVP is required at nationalartsclub.eventbrite.com.
The Advisory team at The Fine Art Group is excited to bring you some of the objects of our affection this Valentine’s Day, including jewelry, fine art, handbags, wine, rare books and decorative arts. Hand-picked by our specialists and advisors, from upcoming sale venues, we hope that our selections inspire your gifts for your valentines this year.
Sotheby’s
February 11, 2020 – Contemporary Art Evening Auction
Sale L20020
Lot 3
Banksy
VOTE TO LOVE
Spray paint on UKIP placard mounted on board
46 x 46 x 3 1/4 in.
Estimate: $522,840-$784,260
Heritage Auctions
May 3, 2020 – Luxury Accessories Signature Auction
New York #5505
Chanel
Matte Pink Python Medium Boy Bag
Estimate: $3,000-$4,000
Rock Paper Film
Maciej Zbikowski
Sabrina
33 x 23 in.
1967
Retail Price: $1050
Sotheby’s
January 28, 2020 – Specialist Selects
Sale L20309
Lot 9
Fine Diamond Ring
Set with an oval diamond weighing 10.16 carats, between baguette diamond shoulders, size L.
Estimate: $367,416-$459,270
Sotheby’s
January 25, 2020 – Triumphant Grace: Important Americana from the Collection of Barbara and Arun Singh
Sale N10303
Lot 1072
Rare Stamp and Punch-Decorated Black and Red Leather Key Basket
Circa 1800
Estimate: $5,000-$8,000
Sotheby’s
February 5, 2020 – Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale
Sale L20004
Lot 125
Marc Chagall
Bouquet d’œillets aux amoureux en vert
Gouache, pastel, oil and brush and ink on paper
31 1/2 x 23 in.
1950
Estimate: $459,270-$721,710
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Petrus, Pomerol
Cab. Sauvignon Blend, Full Bodied, Dry
13.5% alcohol
1989
$38,650
Bonhams
February 5, 2020 – Knightsbridge Jewels
Lot 297
Cartier
A Cultured Pearl and Diamond ‘Panthère’ Necklace
Estimate: $6,600-$9,200
Heritage Auctions
April 4, 2020 – Photographs Signature Auction
New York #8002
Elliott Erwitt
California Kiss, Santa Monica
Gelatin silver print
12 1/4 x 18 in.
1955, printed later
Estimate: $4,000-$6,000
Doyle
January 23, 2020 – Cherished: American Folk Art & Toys from the Estate of a Private Collector
Sale 20FA01
Lot 380
American school
A Courtship Valentine
Watercolor on paper
11 1/4 x 8 in.
19th Century
Estimate: $2,000-$4,000
Not so long-ago January was a dead month in the art world calendar – a collective trade hangover from the autumn season and the slew of dinners in the build up to Christmas. In 2020 it’s an increasingly full month, especially in London. To combat collector malaise associated with a ‘dry’ month – new year resolutions are not conducive to collecting – Condo is now in its fifth London year. Christie’s newly scheduled Modern British sales (on the thin side this season) and the London Art Fair (a localised,entry level event for modern and contemporary art), round off a relatively full few weeks in the city.
Condo has since spawned in New York (2017), Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Shanghai (2019). Condo London reaches across the gallery spectrum, with Sadie Coles, Pilar Corrias and Modern Art among the more established participating galleries. ‘Guests’ for 2020 hail from an incredibly dispersed gallery diaspora: LA, Istanbul, New York, Brussels, Hong Kong / Shanghai, Berlin, Toronto, Chicago, Tokyo, Jakarta, Glasgow, San Francisco, Warsaw, Athens, Mexico City and Vienna. A true microcosm of the so-called global contemporary.
Participation is intentionally cheap (guest galleries pay their hosts a very agreeable £700) and increased footfall the primary objective. The first few days are as close as London gets to a fully-fledged gallery weekend and it’s a remarkably successful way of encouraging gallery goers to traipse across London in the cold and wet. At best, it offers London collectors a chance to discover and acquire works by rapidly rising artists from distant gallery scenes. At worst, presentations are ham strung somewhere between an art fair booth and a true gallery show. Yet Condo is now an essential part of this drab month which is all the better for it.
Looking to the global art fair circuit, the first few months of the year have continued to fill. It’s logical that Taipei Dangdei and Frieze Los Angeles – both enjoying their second iterations – are scheduled for the middle of January and the middle of February respectively. There are few actually quiet moments left and some fairs already encroach on the sacrosanct July-August lull – it’s no surprise that the beginning of the year’s been successfully colonised. Both fairs enjoyed successful first outings in 2019, with Taipei 2020 reporting strong sales and growing, blue-chip roster. While in Barcelona, the art market’s answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos – the Talking Galleries symposium – is now in its eighth year.
It’s hard to imagine what else might fill the slow January weeks in years to come, but for now there’s more to see in London during the first few weeks of the year than ever before.
Images: Installation view, Sofia Mitsola, Darladiladada, Pilar Corrias, London. Courtesy of the artist and Pilar Corrias, London. Photo: Damian Griffiths.
Installation view, Condo London, Southard Reid hosting Öktem Aykut. Courtesy of Ahmet Civelek, Mert Öztekin.
Further Readings
- Spring Art Market Recap 2022
- The Asking Price: Understanding Value #1
- The Asking Price: Understanding Value #2
- Looking Forward: Ten Art Market Predictions for 2023
By Dan Weil, The Wall Street Journal, Published Dec. 15, 2019
Three years ago, Simon Brown, a 36-year-old public-relations professional in Washington, D.C., purchased a 1938 Joe DiMaggio baseball card for $1,500. Its value now: $2,500, up about two-thirds, based on sales records for comparable cards, he says.
That kind of price appreciation is common in today’s sports-memorabilia market, particularly for items priced at $1,000 or more, market participants say. Just as stocks, bonds and other assets have soared in value since the last recession ended in 2009, so has sports memorabilia.
“It’s the same case for collectibles across the board,” says Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions for Heritage Auctions. “Some collectors even view sports memorabilia as an asset class for investment. A lot of our clients love sports and started collecting as kids for a hobby.”
Numerous factors explain the price run-up for sports memorabilia over the past decade, experts say, including the wealth of baby boomers, the entrance of millennials into the market and growing interest from foreigners. Demand for cards and game-used items, such as balls and jerseys, is particularly intense. Of all the sports, the market is generally strongest for baseball items.
Although experts expect the price inflation to continue as long as the economy stays strong, there is no guarantee, just as there are no guarantees with any investment. Making it even more dicey is that there are plenty of bogus and/or overpriced items out there waiting for careless buyers. That’s why it’s crucial for prospective buyers to do plenty of research before taking the plunge.
MONEY AND PASSION
Baby boomers are the foundation of the market because of the wealth they’ve amassed as a group during their careers. “They have huge buying power and nostalgia for sports memorabilia, such as baseball cards and jerseys of their favorite players,” says Anita Heriot, chief executive of Pall Mall Art Advisors, which assists clients with buying and selling all kinds of memorabilia, including sports items.
Meanwhile, Ms. Heriot says she has found that many millennials and members of Generation Z with the money to start collections, especially men, are turning to sports memorabilia because they’re more familiar with sports than they are with art. “That makes it more digestible as a passion and hobby,” she says.
Foreigners are jumping into the market, too, as more people around the world have more disposable income and more athletes from all over the world are achieving global fame in the most prestigious leagues and competitions. For instance, the wave of foreign players who have entered the National Basketball Association over the past 20 years, such as Yao Ming of China and Luka Doncic of Slovenia, has drawn non-Americans to NBA memorabilia, says collector Jimmy Mahan, 43-year-old director of staffing at a North Carolina summer camp. Collectors in China and even in the Philippines—a country with little basketball tradition and no obvious connection to the NBA—have driven prices up, he says.
USED IS GOOD
Baseball cards, which originated in the 1860s, remain a staple. Cards prior to 1960 have particularly escalated in value. “A handful of old cards have reached iconic status, such as Honus Wagner cards from 1909-11 and Mickey Mantle cards from 1952,” says Mr. Brown, the collector.
In May, one of those Wagner cards sold for $1.2 million, up 54% from its sale price of $776,750 in 2016 and 83% from its sale price of $657,250 in 2014, according to SCP Auctions, a sports-memorabilia specialist based in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Cards from other sports also have done well. A card of basketball icon Michael Jordan recently sold for $350,000 and a card of football legend Tom Brady commanded $400,000, notes Simeon Lipman, a pop-culture appraiser.
The 1997-98 Jordan card, sold on eBay, came from a set of Metal Universe Basketball Precious Metal Gems cards and is considered one of the most valuable Jordan cards, according to Beckett Collectibles. The card’s condition wasn’t rated, but it was listed as “altered.” The Brady card, which also sold on eBay, came from the 2000 Playoff Contenders Championship Ticket collection. Beckett graded it as being in mint condition.
But cards are starting to take a back seat to game-used items, including balls and jerseys, as collectors seek to get closer to the players and game action. “It’s a popular thing to have a jersey propped on a mannequin in someone’s man cave,” says Jasmani Francis, a consultant to the Winston Art Group, which appraises and advises on collectibles.
In June, a Babe Ruth New York Yankees jersey from 1928-1930 was auctioned at Yankee Stadium for $5.64 million, making it the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold, according to the auctioneer, Hunt Auctions.
Dennis Riehman, 67, a retired banker in Ossining, N.Y., has a 1927 ball purportedly used in batting practice with autographs from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. He bought it from a family friend who was a Yankee Stadium usher for $2,000 about 25 years ago. A sports-memorabilia dealer told him last year that it was now worth five times that. But Mr. Riehman says the ball means too much to him to ever sell. “I’ll give it to my son.”
DON’T TRUST, VERIFY
So how can buyers, especially novices, avoid overpaying in this inflationary environment? Homework is essential. Buyers can do significant price research with an internet search of dealers, auction houses, appraisers and even eBay. Comparison prices exist on the web for many items, says Mr. Francis, the consultant. That includes sale prices for items comparable to the one a buyer is interested in and sometimes for the same item. Recent sale prices allow buyers to judge whether the current price of the item they want is in line with the market.
Buyers also should research the seller. “Know what it is you’re buying and from whom you’re buying it,” says Steve Sloan, president of Professional Sports Authenticator, which grades and authenticates sports memorabilia. “You should only purchase pieces from a reputable dealer that has been in business for at least five years,” he says. Independent, third-party certification of an item’s authenticity is also important, experts say. Authenticators besides PSA include James Spence Authentication and Beckett Authentication Services. A knowledgeable adviser also might help new collectors avoid costly rookie mistakes.
Despite the potential pitfalls, opportunities abound for collectors of sports memorabilia in a way they don’t for traditional art collectors. “Art is an elite passion,” says Pall Mall’s Ms. Heriot, with prices that run into the thousands even toward the lower end of the market. “But with $100, you can buy a decent sports trading card that will hold value. Sports memorabilia is probably the most populist of passion assets.”
Mr. Weil is a writer in West Palm Beach, Fla. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com.
Read the article on The Wall Street Journal