Independent Expertise: Auctions Worldwide

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Private sale may be the best avenue for discreetly transferring a work of art. Today all auction houses have departments which will handle private sales, both to another collector or to a museum.
Selling works from an estate requires a deliberative process and ARTLINKGLOBAL can assist at every step, from initial appraisal to subsequent placement. We develop thoughtful sale and marketing plans to reach the best targeted range of buyers. In the event an item does not find a buyer through the private placement process, it may then go to auction.
As you begin to sort out in your mind how you want to approach de-accessioning your collection, there are several strategies you can employ…..each of them tailored to special objects and artworks which must be matched to a private placement aggregator or the right auction house at the right time of year. When contacting an auction house bear in mind that it is often best to choose an auction house that is located close to where the art was created, not close to where the seller is located.
A third avenue of transfer, in lieu of sale, is donation to an appropriate museum such that you are tax advantaged.

Here is an extraordinary story of exponential growth as museums, dealers, auction houses and publishers re-define their mission and merge functions and attributes. http://artlinkglobaladvisory.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/the-art-world-in-motion-disintermediation/

This trend speaks to the remarkable change the Internet brings to both the market and the players. Museums take on the role of publisher, dealers take on the role of museums, auction houses look to poach on dealer’s turf, art fairs expand and the market for art remains a robust and exciting kaleidoscope……on a global basis. Remarkably, even in the face of economic dislocation.

A new report from The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF), released in conjunction with the current TEFAF Maastricht art fair, Mar. 16-25, 2012, sets the total size of the global art market at €46.1 billion, or about $60.8 billion (€1 = $1.32) for 2011. According to economist Clare McAndrew, who conducted the study, the €46.1 billion figure includes both public auction data, and an estimate of art gallery and private art dealer sales, which is based on polls of over 6,500 dealers around the world as well as interviews with a somewhat smaller number.

In McAndrew’s estimation, the $60.8 billion is about equally split between auctions and commercial gallery sales. Take the auction half first — the global art-auction total for 2011 was €23.1 billion ($30.5 billion). Total auction sales at both Sotheby’s and arch-rival Christie’s are put at $5.7 billion each for 2011, which adds up to $11.4 billion, or about 35 percent of the global auction art trade.
China’s share of the auction business in 2011 was €9.8 billion, or almost $13 billion — 42 percent of the $30.5 billion auction total. The top two auction firms in China are Poly International, whose 2011 sales totaled €1.4 billion ($1.85 billion), and China Guardian, at €1.3 billion ($1.7 billion). A substantial proportion of the China-based activity is due to the global reach of Sotheby’s and Christie’s, which reported $1.14 billion and $924 million, respectively, from their China operations. Both the U.S. and China have lower sales than the E.U., which, as an aggregate, totaled 34 percent of the market (the E.U. sector includes the U.K., which accounted for 65 percent of the E.U. total in 2011).
But totals are one thing, growth quite another. Needless to say, art-market growth in the U.S. and the E.U. is inconsequential compared to that in China, whose auction boom is a monster, with totals soaring by 177 percent in 2010 and 65 percent in 2011.

Economist and Art Historian:
Proprietary search, authentication and strategic implementation at auctions worldwide