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Category Archives: Economics

Auctions: Sekoto Painting Sets Record for the South African Artist at Auction

There occasionally is some good news to come out of the down art market in this global recession.  On October 6, Sotheby’s hosted their Impressionist and Modern Art sale, which included Russian and Latin American Art.  Sotheby’s also snuck in this piece by South African artist Gerard Sekoto, a self-taught painter.  The 20×24″ oil on canvas (1945-1947) painting was estimated to sell between $100,000-150,000.  It smashed that estimate to hammer at $542,500 (inclusive of buyer’s premium). More after the jump…

Viewpoints: Traditional Museums Set Record Attendence Non-Traditionally

The recession has been hitting everyone hard, even the museums are being hit in their wallets. From the MOCA needing a bail out to the Rose Art Museum selling off their collection, museums seem to be dealing with declining attendance and many have been forced to reduce payroll or take mandatory staff furloughs to make ends meet. Yet there’s a silver lining to every situation. Some museums have found ways to boost attendance by tapping into alternative “non-traditional” art forms. Museum mainstays such as Rembrandt, […]

Getty to Slash Budget as Trust has Lost $2 Billion in Last Year

The Getty Center (where we will be visiting for Kehinde Wiley’s talk) will surely be slashing their budget soon as news has come out that the J. Paul Getty Trust has lost amost $2 billion over the last year. We are sure other institutions don’t feel too badly for them yet as their trust is still the behemoth in the museum world at $4.5 billion. The closest endowment to the Getty’s is that of the Met (NY) at $2.1 billion, which announced plans Thursday to […]

Yves Saint Laurent Auction Drama & Fallout

Judging from the results of the YSL auction we previously reported on, it seems that in the high-end art world, provenance is as important as the artwork itself. The Yves Saint Laurent name, just like Andy Warhol’s and Jackie Kennedy’s name did for estate sales in the past, enamored bidders and helped draw in a stunning $477 million, beating estimates with nearly 96 percent of the 689 lots sold. Hard to know what one auction with such celebrity attached to it means for the general […]

China’s Contemporary Art Crisis

As AM reported in past months (here), the ailing financial situation has forced many notable galleries in the US and EU to close shop. While this disappointing trend in the western art markets concern many, it pales in comparison to the crisis that is currently plaguing China’s contemporary art market. In Beijing’s famed Dashanzi art quarter alone, over 50 galleries have gone out of business. Even the annual Asian International Art Fair scheduled for March 11-15 at New York’s Park Avenue Armory, has been canceled due […]

Louvre – Abu Dhabi

Amidst troubled world economies and tepid art sales, stories of galleries closing and museums in trouble are being reported more frequently. Although art institutions in Europe are perhaps in a better position because of heavy government subsidies when compared to the U.S., in these times, they too are seeking additional, more creative means of funding. News has come out recently that the Louvre is setting up their first-ever endowment fund with the $230 million installment paid to them from the United Arab Emirates. We are […]

Madoff Effects on Art Market

Sounds as though the slump in the art market is not only due to a lower demand, but also because of a higher supply of good art.  One of the reverberations of the biggest ponzi scheme in history by Bernie Madoff appears to be an increasing supply of good art for sale.  It’s hard to believe but according to the Wall Street Journal, many art collectors who invested with Madoff had so much of their money lost that their sole liquid asset they have left […]

Emmanuel Perrotin to suspend Miami operations

We’ve all heard the whispers about the troubled economy this year and how it may affect the art community. At Basel Week Miami this year, we saw first hand the rippling effects of the economic downturn on many of the galleries exhibiting. Sales were definitely a shadow of the previous year, with many galleries not making enough to cover their cost of travel to Miami. Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, which recently hosted a Kaws exhibition, made the announcement last week that it will be suspending operations […]

Lehman Brothers to sell art collection

We’ve all heard of the unfortunate events to hit the economy in recent months with major financial investment firms going bankrupt and many assets falling to zero. Apparently these major financial firms have been some of the biggest investors in the art world. Recently, Lehman asked a bankruptcy judge to approve a 20k payment to its art handlers in order to start showing their collection to potential buyers. Lehman needs sell off part of art collection to raise at least 8 million dollars. It seems that […]