Wednesday, October 16, 2013

AUCTION HOUSES: BUYING FINE ART : DO & DON'T DO

AUCTION HOUSES : How to buy - Where to buy – DO/DON’T

BUYING FINE ART IN AUCTIONS

TAKE THE TIME AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU BUY IN AUCTIONS-

There are good auction houses and there are a lot of wannabe auction houses.
FIRST CHOOSE THE RIGHT AUCTION HOUSE 
-   the big names: Sotheby’s , Christies,  etc
-   the mid range houses: Doyle – Freeman – Heritage, etc
-   the auction houses that specialize  : gov. auctions – seized assets auctions etc auctions that pretend to have seized items but in reality they  sell all kind of diamonds and watches.  Promoting jewelry with a lot of bling.  Usually there are a couple watches , like Rolexes loaded with diamonds or jewelry of questionable taste.  Of course there are real seized assets auction houses but you will immediately see the difference.
-   the auction houses that sell a lot of junk, or lots of Chinese items , lots of carpets etc
-   estate auctions
A regular auction for estates will have a combination of items ranging from furniture, clothing, jewelry, accessories or collectibles..  Of course several  estates or seized items may be displayed in a same auction which will explain why you may have more than 2-3 dining tables etc .  see www.Alderfer.com auctions
You can look at the background of the estate if it is from a notable family to verify the credibility of the items and paintings. 
Auction houses may also have a special auction day that specializes in a particular subject or period.  This can include books, cars, wine, watches,

DON’T
:  If you are looking for a good deal avoid auctions with loose diamonds, stones, and incredible BLING.  These items are usually featured with lots of appraisals and overquoted appraisals. They may also add a couple Picasso and Chagall lithographs to attract the buyers looking for these under priced items.  These lithos and prints will have questionable origins and are usually fake.
AVOID  THESE AUCTION WEBSITES. Don’t look at auctions with lots of jars, fake native artifacts, etc.  Miscellaneous worthless items that will waste your time.
DO  Look at auction houses that propose a complete succession of an individual or company.  You should find items that you normally find in a home and garage.
Estate sales will have a type of theme or style to the estate. This can include the furnishings ( by style or period), clothing ( labels and type), jewelry ( watches, etc) , and artwork ( type , provenance, price range).
Everybody is looking into these auctions, and everyday you have more and more auction houses because there are more and more dreamers.  The internet has made auctions accessible to experts and collectors worldwide and to the novice collector and treasure hunter as well.
DON'T  think you are the only one who sees an item at an incredible low price.  Once I attended an auction in NY, I believe it was the Millea Brothers auction house.  I was very much interested in a little painting described as in the circle of Hoefnagel with an estimate of $ 2-3,000.00  ,  it ended up selling for $ 265,0000.00.
Professionals choose from the daily auctions they offer online at LiveAuctioneers.com or Artfact.com. With some training you will see which are the serious auction houses or which are the merchant auctions.  You need to be selective in your choices because the time spent reviewing all these different auction houses can be overwhelming.  With time you can learn to spot the signs of a merchant’s auction.
Be aware that the EBay phenomena caused lots of damage to the artworld.  It has become a necessity for me to refuse artwork related to EBAY.  The majority of the items are fake or are labeled in such a way to make the buyer believe they are authentic. But either the documents are not valid or are worded to make you believe it is authentic. There is nothing you can do against this practice. 
Ebay sellers caused a lot of damages
1-    the sole recognized authenticators are drowning under the everyday mail they receive: Especially Picasso, Chagall,  etc .  Since they are polite people they may try to respond but answering all the letters requires lots of time.  Many experts have had to hire employees to help.  With over 2500 items that appear on Ebay everyday, the major experts now require a fee to respond to your mail. By example, the Wildenstein Institute , asks $ 2500 just to open your letter you send them.   Before Ebay , this didn’t exist…they received 1-2 files a month, today for Picasso  it’s 100-200 letters a day!   Thank you EBAY
DON”T EBAY.
2-    Another major damage due to some unscrupulous Ebay sellers
A couple years ago I saw a splendid collage by Kurt Schwitters in an auction in Saint Louis. I had no doubt it was authentic. Unfortunately,  the owner offered priorly this collage to Ebay for auction.   The expert for Kurt Schwitters refused the authenticity.  They will not say it is by Kurt Schwitters because it was for sale on Ebay.  Also we know very well that an item offered on Ebay is overexposed and becomes almost unsellable because of this overexposure
DON”T OFFER GOOD ITEMS ON EBAY 
In conclusion of this first chapter,
DON’T BELIEVE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE TO SEE AN ITEM THAT COULD BE VERY PROFITABLE
DON’T FOLLOW EBAY – WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY

DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND BE SELECTIVE OF THE AUCTION HOUSES YOU WILL FOLLOW.
to be continued  
          Gerard Van Weyenbergh
http://www.vwart.com/Artauthentication.htm