Owner: Art Market Blog URL:http://www.artmarketblog.com Join Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 19:59:36 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Art market blog by art market guru Nicholas Forrest Site statistics:Click here
Questions on the Art Market from Flash Art Magazine 2007-06-13 18:15:47 I was recently interviewed by Italian Flash
Art Magazine
on my views of the art market. I have included the interview below:
NICHOLAS FORREST
Art consultant and art market expert.
What about your education? Can you tell me about its main steps?
Nicholas Forrest: I completed a Bachelor of Arts (Art History and Criticism) degree in 2003 and have continued to educate myself on the art market through working in different areas of the market and doing as much research as I can. I am also about to undertake further study in Europe on fine art.
What is Art for Profits?
NF: Art For Profits (www.artforprofits.com) is basically a step by step guide to art investment with on-going comments on, and analysis of the art market.
Why should one invest in art? Two of the reasons that you allege are the stability of this market and the
fact that art is tangible. Could you better explain me these concepts?
NF: One should invest in art for four good reasons:
First of all the art market is a relativel Read more:Market
WHAT NOT TO DO 2007-06-11 18:35:24 WHAT NOT TO DO
The one worst presumptions that people looking to invest in the art market make is that a cheap artwork is a good investment. There are two types of art investment “cheap skates” the first being the person that buys an artwork because it is cheap to begin with and the other being the person who buys an artwork because it is discounted. The fact is that if an artwork is cheap or discounted then there must be a reason that it is cheap or discounted. If you are looking for something to hang on your wall as decoration then a cheap or discounted artwork is ok but not if you are looking at an investment.
Think of art investment as you would your other investments. You wouldn’t purchase shares in a dodgy business just because they were cheap and you wouldn’t invest in a poor quality bottle of wine just becau
SIGNS OF SUCCESS - FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY 2007-06-16 04:16:22 SIGNS OF SUCCESS
Most people will tell you that the secret to a good investment is to invest in an undervalued market. If you were to apply this philosophy to the art market then contemporary fine art photography would have to be the way to go at the moment.
The market for photography is currently hugely undervalued compared to other sectors of the art market which means that you can purchase a top rate photographic work for a small amount of money compared to a painting or sculpture.
With works by internationally renowned Australian photographers Tracey Moffatt and Patricia Piccinini both having sold for over $50,000, the indication is that people are quite willing to pay big money for top quality photographic works.
The highest price ever paid for a single photograph is US$2,928,000 for “Pond-Moonlight” by Edward Steichen but for a few thousand dollars you can purchase a top quality photographic print by a known artist.
If you are not familiar with the fine art photography ma
THE STIGMA OF SCULPTURE 2007-06-17 22:46:50 THE STIGMA OF SCULPTURE
Sculpture is considered to be one of the most under valued mediums in the art market yet people continue to shun sculpture for paintings. I have been spending some time recently trying to figure out exactly what it is about sculpture that causes so many people to ignore it and have come to the conclusion that there is not one particular cause but there are many. As I see i the disadvantages of sculpture are:
-More associated with design and architecture than with the fine arts
-Sculptures often very large and not practical for collectors
-May take longer to create therefore smaller market
-Not as practical to display as hanging a painting on a wall
-Career solely based on sculpting not practical
-Sculpture seen as a supplement to painting
-Sculptures often created in multiples due to impracticality of producing one therefore makes the sculpture less desirable than a one off
-Seemingly less options and directions available with sculpture
Spirit of War by Rodin
Th
Sothebys vs Christies - In the red corner…. 2007-06-21 19:49:04 Sothebys vs Christies - In the red corner
&hellip
;.
With Sotheby’s having dominated the art auction world for so long it is good to finally see Christie’s stepping up to the plate with fantastic auction results and the record for a single day auction at $491 million. The rivaly between Sotheby’s and Christie’s has never been stronger with both auction houses being reported as offering guaranteed prices for vendors artworks at auction. There have even been reports of Sotheby’s and Christie’s waving their fees in an effort to secure the sale of a particular artwork or collection just so they can get the resulting publicity and kudos.
Christie’s recent and controversial purchase of the highly regarded gallery Haunch of Venison caused a flurry of opinions many of which accused Christie’s of blurring the lines between what galleries and auction houses offer and calling the purchase a conflict of interest. Christie’s wasnt the first aucti
Celebrities and Art 2007-06-24 17:54:14 Celebrities and Art
Celebrities have long been involved in the promotion of a wide range of products from fashion to jewelery to bottled water. If you have a product that you want to sell the best way to create demand is to have your product photographed with a celebrity wearing, holding or using your product. I have been seeing a similar sort of trend emerging in the art world with artists using celebrities to increase their profile and celebrities getting involved with artists. The most obvious example of this is Charles Saatchi who has become one of the most influential figures in the artworld with artists flocking to his website http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk to get in on the action. When Charles Saatchi was about his influence on the art market this is what he had so say:
Q: Your practice of buying emerging artists work has proved highly contagious and is arguably the single greatest influence on the current market because so many others, both veteran collectors and new investor Read more:Celebrities
COPYRIGHT AND THE VISUAL ARTS 2007-06-28 19:03:52 COPYRIGHT AND THE VISUAL ARTS
It is in the best interest of anyone involved in the art market to make sure that artists are properly looked after and treated with the respect that they deserve so that they are able to pursue their career as an artist and continue to produce art. Copyright is one particular area of the visual arts that is often overlooked and not properly understood which means that many artists are being exploited. I have therefore included some key points in relation to copyright that everyone should be aware of.
1. Owning an artwork does not give you ownership of copyright.
2. Copyright stays with the artist unless they have legally signed it over to someone else (or copyright has expired)
3. Permission is required to reproduce an image of an artists work in almost every situation such as on the internet, in magazines, in newspapers, on posters etc.
4. Many artists are members of copyright collection agency’s who should be contacted as a first port of call
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH CY TWOMBLY 2007-07-02 22:14:36 MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH CY TWOMBLY
Further to my last post on aesthetics, I would like to give you an example of my experience with an artwork that revealed why it was a good investment by engaging with me on a level that went beyond pure aesthetics and changing my perception of the artist and artwork. The artwork in question is called “Three Studies From the Temeraire” by Cy Twombly and was purchased by the Art Gallery of New South Wales (my favourite place to visit) for a considerable six million dollars.
"Three Studies From the Temeraire" by Cy Twombly
I first saw this painting in a newspaper article just after is was purchased and my first impression was that it was a waste of good money that could have been spent on something much better. There was considerable controversy over the purchase of this painting which at the time I thought was completely justified. As far as artworks go, this painting by Cy Twombly is rather simple and very sparse which are not the i
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH CY TWOMBLY PART 2 2007-07-06 07:21:17 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH CY TWOMBLY PART 2
Although I was not immediately attracted to this painting it did have an effect on me and evoked a response on both an intellectual and emotional level. Questions and thoughts began to form in my head which required me to contemplate, dissect and critique this artwork in order to fulfil my desire to understand and interact with this artwork.
One of the most important points in relation to this artwork is that it didn’t give everything away when I first viewed it, instead it made an impact (even though it was mostly negative) by leaving me with unanswered questions and unsatisfied with my first interaction. I was therefore in a position where I had to instigate further interactions in order to resolve the conflict and tension that this painting had created.
Cy Twombly
I did not come to like this painting because I began to find it visually appealing, it was because of what lay beneath. The interaction, emot
Personal Experience With Cy Twombly Part 3 2007-07-09 11:10:29 PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH CY TWOMBLY PART 3
So now that I have explained my interactions with Cy Twombly’s “Three Studies From the Temeraire” in detail, I am sure you are all wondering how it all ties in with the art market so I am going to tell you.
The continued resilience of an artwork in the art market relies on its ability to maintain peoples interest and evoke the sort or response that causes the artwork to remain in peoples thoughts. If an artwork gives away everything the first time you view it then there is no reason to go back to it and no reason why it should maintain your interest. If an artwork consists purely of the image you see at first glance and doesn’t involve ‘more than meets the eye’ then why would anyone want to pay large amounts of money to hang it on their wall.
As I have mentioned many times before, the value of an artwork goes beyond the purely visual and although I have explained the visu Read more:Personal
HUGE mistake by Sotheby’s !!! 2007-07-13 11:40:44 HUGE mistake by Sotheby
’s !!!
It has recently come to my attention that Sotheby’s in the UK have introduced a minimum value for works that they will auction of £3000 which is in line with their move away from the middle-range auctions with the discontinuation of their lower-value Kensington Olympia sales to concentrate on the top end of the market. Beyond the fact that Sotheby’s are trailing behind Christies in market share there are many reasons why Sotheby’s are making a huge mistake, such as:
-Sotheby’s already have a reputation as a bit of a snobby company so by introducing a minimum value they are alienating potential future clients.
-It is quite common for clients of auction houses to have lesser value works of art to sell as well as high value works so Sotheby’s is in danger of loosing these clients.
-Many people who sell art through auction have artworks in their homes that they do not realise the value of so by having a minimum
AUCTION HOUSE PRICE GUARANTEE 2007-07-17 06:06:22 AUCTION HOUSE PRICE GUARANTEE
I received a news article the other day which was rather startling but very exciting. What was even more startling was that I received another article on my desk a couple of days later which reported another instance of the same scenario. What was is that excited me so much, well, the two articles reported two separate auction houses offering guarantees to the vendors of certain paintings that they would get a certain price for their artwork at auction. That’s right, both Sotheby’s and Christies guaranteed that the vendor of a Rothko painting at an auction in the USA would receive at least a certain amount of money for the work regardless of the sales outcome. Christies and Sotheby’s even tried to outdo each other by raising the guaranteed sale price they were offering the vendor in an effort to secure the sale of the
ART MARKET HISTORY 2007-07-19 11:22:06 ART MARKET HISTORY
I constantly hear of people using the weakening of the art market in the 1980’s as an excuse to not invest in art. Well I am here to tell you that the current art market is nothing like the art market in the 1980’s and here’s why:
-Globalisation: The globalisation of the art market has provided a far more stable and viable market than was available in the 80’s.
-Technology: The availability of information on art and the art market to a global audience means that people are far more knowledgeable and willing to invest in art. The internet has also allowed artists to expose their work to a world wide audience creating greater interest and demand
-Knowledge: Mistakes were made in the 80’s especially by those setting up art funds who didn’t utilise the appropriate a
WHERE TO FIND EMERGING ARTISTS 2007-07-21 05:23:53 WHERE TO FIND EMERGING ARTISTS
The most savvy art investors look for the next big thing amongst the plethora of emerging artists. The best way to make a killing investing in art is to pick the next big thing before everyone else does. The problem with this method is that you need an extremely good knowledge of the art market in order to be able to predict who will be popular in the future without the figures and history of an established artist.
Damien Hirst started out as a member of the Young British Artists group.
One way to give yourself a better chance at picking a winner is to focus on some of the well established collectives, galleries and initiatives which nurture and promote the best emerging artists. To give you a head start I have included links below to some of the best online galleries that sell art by emerging artists that won’t break the bank.
Who knows, the next Hirst might be one click away.
www.emergingarts.com
www.artists
SELLING AN ARTWORK 2007-07-23 08:05:27 SELLING AN ARTWORK
One of the most common objections people have to investing in art is the relative illiquid (more difficult to convert to cash) status of the art market. Now I am not suggesting that art is as easy to convert into money as say shares but it is definitely not enough of a problem to prevent people from investing in art and it is something that can be rectified to a certain extent with the right knowledge (which I will provide).
As I tell anyone who comes to me for advice, you should not put all your money into art just as you should not put all your money into shares or property. Each type of investment has its own positives and negative points and by diversifying your portfolio you can balance out the negatives of one type of investment with the positives of another. Art investment is very similar to property investment in that it is asset based and is not instantly convertible to cash. People don’t turn away from investing in property beca
RIGHT TIME TO SELL YOUR ARTWORK?? 2007-07-26 10:30:00 RIGHT TIME TO SELL YOUR ARTWORK??
Before I go into detail about how to sell an artwork it is important firstly to decide whether or not it is the right time to sell. As art is a long term investment the current consensus is that you should be prepared to hold onto an artwork for 7-10 years minimum before you sell so keep this in mind when making a decision. Firstly you need to decide which category of seller you fit into so you can devise a selling strategy. The categories are:
1. Has to sell as in need of money
2. Would like to sell at a time when maximum profits can be achieved
3. Has specific profit percentage target and will sell as soon as target can be achieved
Category number one basically requires a strategy to maximise selling price and minimise fees which will I will go into in the next post but categories two and three require planning and assessment in order to be able to achieve your objectives.
When should you sell your investment art?
SELLING OPTIONS FOR INVESTMENT ART 2007-07-28 08:01:09 SELLING OPTIONS FOR INVESTMENT ART
As I have mentioned before there are ways of avoiding the large fees usually charged by galleries and auction houses but different categories of artwork will require or be best suited to different selling outlets, some of which will be suited to being sold in a gallery or auction house. There are of course benefits to selling at a gallery or auction house otherwise no one would sell there so before you sell an artwork is important to consider the pros and cons of the different outlets for selling an artwork.
Now there are plenty of people who don’t really understand art investment who will use the fees charged for selling at auction or at a gallery as an excuse to not invest in art which, to be honest, is a completely irrational excuse. Why is it irrational, well, you pay money to a real estate agent to sell your house and you pay a broker to sell your shares so why should the art market be any different?.
Think for a moment why you
SELLING ART AT AUCTION 2007-07-31 08:45:38 SELLING ART AT AUCTION
You may have heard people complaining about the cost of selling an artwork particularly at auction but before you form an opinion it is important for you to know exactly what fees are involved in selling at auction and what you get for your money. The fees that you are charged by auction houses pay for services such as:
-Appraisal of items value by an expert
-Analysis of condition, provenance, authenticity
-Promotion of auction
-Auctioneers fees
-Established client base
-Catalogue production
-Venue hire, catering, auction staff
Some auction houses may charge extra for some of these services on top of the percentage of the sale price so check with the auction house before making any commitments.
To give you an example of the type of fees to expect I have included the sellers fee schedule for Bonhams UK below:
All UK Salerooms:
On the first £2000 15%
Thereafter 10%
The first thing I am sure that yo
SELLING OPTIONS FOR INVESTMENT ART 2007-08-03 05:41:16 SELLING OPTIONS FOR INVESTMENT ART
As I have mentioned before there are ways of avoiding the large fees usually charged by galleries and auction houses but different categories of artwork will require or be best suited to different selling outlets, some of which will be suited to being sold in a gallery or auction house. There are of course benefits to selling at a gallery or auction house otherwise no one would sell there so before you sell an artwork is important to consider the pros and cons of the different outlets for selling an artwork.
Now there are plenty of people who don’t really understand art investment who will use the fees charged for selling at auction or at a gallery as an excuse to not invest in art which, to be honest, is a completely irrational excuse. Why is it irrational, well, you pay money to a real estate agent to sell your house and you pay a broker to sell your shares so why should the art market be any different?.
Think
TIPS ON HOW AND WHERE TO SELL ART 2007-08-05 07:25:25 TIPS ON HOW AND WHERE TO SELL ART
Following on from last post I said that I would explain what the various costs for selling an artwork mean for you, the seller. Taking into account the various fees associated with selling at auction it is really only worth while selling at auction if the artwork you are selling is worth more than the £2000 threshold (or what ever the threshold is before the selling fees go down). There are other avenues for selling less expensive artworks most of which are based online.
For those that do decide to sell at auction here are a few tips that could make the difference between getting a good price and getting a great price:
1.Only sell with auction houses that offer specific, separate sales for artwork. Don’t sell at an auction which includes a bit of everything as the chances of a successful sale are much lower.
2.Don’t automatically assume that a smaller auction house will have lower selling fees.
&nb
Warhol Foundation Accused of Art Market Conspiracy!!! 2007-08-10 09:43:44 Warhol Foundation
Accused of Art MarketConspiracy
!!!
The media has recently been filled with reports of the Andy Warhol Foundation being involved in extremely dodgy practices aimed at monopolising the market for, and increasing the value of Warhol’s work which has resulted in an American man suing the foundation. Apparently the Andy Warhol Foundation has been labeling works inauthentic that are in fact authentic in order to create more demand for Warhol’s work.
The law suit has been filed by a film producer by the name of Joe Simon-Whelan who claims that an Andy Warhol work (a silkscreen portrait of Andy Warhol) that he owns has been authenticated on many separate occasions by not only the same people who are now denying its authenticity but also by major auction houses. Not only has the foundation denied authenticity of the work but it has also stamped the back of the silk screen with a red denied stamp which has bled through the canvas and is now visible through the ac Read more:Warhol
The Best Online Galleries for Affordable Investment Art 2007-08-14 07:19:10 The Best Online Galleries
for Affordable Investment Art
Below is a list of some fantastic online galleries where you can purchase art for investment that won’t send you broke. Many of the artworks that you find for sale at these galleries are priced at under US$5000 which makes them an affordable investment for most people. All the galleries that I have listed display the prices of the work they have for sale and offer online purchasing. As with any purchase of art for investment, do your research before making any decisions to ensure that you make an informed and sensible decision.
Are You Generic:
The Are You Generic catalogue is an exhibition of wearables and print art intended to critique and reclaim our social and mental environments.
http://www.areyougeneric.org/
SF Camerawork:
Collect contemporary photographic work at prices substantially below market value while providing significant support to San Francisco Camerawork’s artistic programming
http://www.sfcamerawork.org
For The Artists: HOW TO GET NOTICED NOW!! 2007-08-07 00:51:54 Update 9/8/07
I have received several suggestions of other websites where artists can promote their work so I have decided to add the new resources to the list. If you have any other websites that you think should be on the list then send me a message using the contact box.
For The Artists
: GET NOTICED NOW!!
In response to a large number of artists asking me how to market their art I have decided to write a basic guide for artists on how to get noticed online. The internet has opened up endless opportunities for artists to promote and market their work but with so many avenues of exposure it can be difficult knowing which to utilise and which to avoid. To keep things simple I have created a list of the most important avenues of self promotion for artists and links to relevant resources.
Networking:
One of the most important avenues of self promotion for artists is the involvement in, and interaction with communities of artists. By networking with other artists you get the benefit o
Selling Investment Art: How To Maximise Your Return 2007-08-05 07:25:25 Selling Investment Art: How To Maximise Your Return
Following on from last post I said that I would explain what the various costs for selling an artwork mean for you, the seller. Taking into account the various fees associated with selling at auction it is really only worth while selling at auction if the artwork you are selling is worth more than the £2000 threshold (or what ever the threshold is before the selling fees go down). There are other avenues for selling less expensive artworks most of which are based online.
For those that do decide to sell at auction here are a few tips that could make the difference between getting a good price and getting a great price:
1.Only sell with auction houses that offer specific, separate sales for artwork. Don’t sell at an auction which includes a bit of everything as the chances of a successful sale are much lower.
2.Don’t automatically assume that a smaller auction house will have lower s
Maximising Profits: Where to Sell Investment Art 2007-08-03 05:41:16 Maximising Profits: Where to Sell Investment Art
As I have mentioned before there are ways of avoiding the large fees usually charged by galleries and auction houses but different categories of artwork will require or be best suited to different selling outlets, some of which will be suited to being sold in a gallery or auction house. There are of course benefits to selling at a gallery or auction house otherwise no one would sell there so before you sell an artwork is important to consider the pros and cons of the different outlets for selling an artwork.
Now there are plenty of people who don’t really understand art investment who will use the fees charged for selling at auction or at a gallery as an excuse to not invest in art which, to be honest, is a completely irrational excuse. Why is it irrational, well, you pay money to a real estate agent to sell your house and you pay a broker to sell your shares so why should the art market be any different?.
&nbs
Art Investment Strategies: Choosing When To Sell 2007-07-26 10:30:00 Art Investment Strategies
: Choosing When To Sell
Before I go into detail about how to sell an artwork it is important firstly to decide whether or not it is the right time to sell. As art is a long term investment the current consensus is that you should be prepared to hold onto an artwork for 7-10 years minimum before you sell so keep this in mind when making a decision. Firstly you need to decide which category of seller you fit into so you can devise a selling strategy. The categories are:
1. Has to sell as in need of money
2. Would like to sell at a time when maximum profits can be achieved
3. Has specific profit percentage target and will sell as soon as target can be achieved
Category number one basically requires a strategy to maximise selling price and minimise fees which will I will go into in the next post but categories two and three require planning and assessment in order to be able to achieve your objectives.
When should you sell your investment
Why You Should Consider Investing in Art 2007-07-23 08:05:27 Why You Should Consider Investing
in Art
One of the most common objections people have to investing in art is the relative illiquid (more difficult to convert to cash) status of the art market. Now I am not suggesting that art is as easy to convert into money as say shares but it is definitely not enough of a problem to prevent people from investing in art and it is something that can be rectified to a certain extent with the right knowledge (which I will provide).
As I tell anyone who comes to me for advice, you should not put all your money into art just as you should not put all your money into shares or property. Each type of investment has its own positives and negative points and by diversifying your portfolio you can balance out the negatives of one type of investment with the positives of another. Art investment is very similar to property investment in that it is asset based and is not instantly convertible to cash. People don’t turn away from investin
Where To Find Emerging Artists: Cashing In On The Next Hirst 2007-07-21 05:23:53 Where To Find Emerging Artists
: Cashing In On The Next Hirst
The most savvy art investors look for the next big thing amongst the plethora of emerging artists. The best way to make a killing investing in art is to pick the next big thing before everyone else does. The problem with this method is that you need an extremely good knowledge of the art market in order to be able to predict who will be popular in the future without the figures and history of an established artist.
Damien Hirst started out as a member of the Young British Artists group.
One way to give yourself a better chance at picking a winner is to focus on some of the well established collectives, galleries and initiatives which nurture and promote the best emerging artists. To give you a head start I have included links below to some of the best online galleries that sell art by emerging artists that won’t break the bank.
Who knows, the next Hirst might be one click away.
www.e
How The Art Market Has Changed Since The 1980’s 2007-07-19 11:22:06 How The Art Market
Has Changed Since The 1980’s
I constantly hear of people using the weakening of the art market in the 1980’s as an excuse to not invest in art. Well I am here to tell you that the current art market is nothing like the art market in the 1980’s and here’s why:
-Globalisation: The globalisation of the art market has provided a far more stable and viable market than was available in the 80’s.
-Technology: The availability of information on art and the art market to a global audience means that people are far more knowledgeable and willing to invest in art. The internet has also allowed artists to expose their work to a world wide audience creating greater interest and demand
-Knowledge: Mistakes were made in the 80’s especially by those setting up art funds who didn’t uti
Art Market Madness: The Auction House Price Guarantee 2007-07-17 06:06:22 Art MarketMadness
: The AuctionHouse
Price Guarantee
I received a news article the other day which was rather startling but very exciting. What was even more startling was that I received another article on my desk a couple of days later which reported another instance of the same scenario. What was is that excited me so much, well, the two articles reported two separate auction houses offering guarantees to the vendors of certain paintings that they would get a certain price for their artwork at auction. That’s right, both Sotheby’s and Christies guaranteed that the vendor of a Rothko painting at an auction in the USA would receive at least a certain amount of money for the work regardless of the sales outcome. Christies and Sotheby’s even tried to outdo each other by raising the guaranteed sale price they were offering the vendor in an effort to secure the s Read more:House Price
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