Its all in the detail...current trends in the Art Market by Marcus Grey; director of Paintings & Prints Roseberys Auctioneers
One might be forgiven for thinking that due to the current financial climate, credit crunch et al, the art market may be suffering. However, in my experience, when these sort of crises occur there can be exceptions to the rule. It is true that during the last years of the 1980’s and early 1990’s there were casualties in the art market, especially at the top end and in the decorative market. However, areas where buyers stood to do very well (as time has shown) were in the freshly emerging markets such as those in the Far East, Ireland, Central Europe and or specialist interest subjects.
One such example is a painting that we sold in our March Quarterly sale by Frantisek Tichy, a Czechoslovakian artist, 1896-1961 depicting a delicately rendered scene in the Chotkovy Gardens, Prague, presented in what appeared to be its original frame and bearing an exhibition label to the reverse. Entered with an estimate of £500-700 it achieved a £4000 hammer price on the day.
With advanced technology buyers are now much more visually aware and informed, so when a painting of an unusual image surfaces for sale, there is often stiff competition. In the same March sale we offered a painting of an amusing subject, depicting a trumpeter by the artist George Frederick Belcher RA 1875-1947. No fewer than seven telephone bids were booked for this lot, the hammer falling at £6000 in the end.
So maybe its time to take a second look at what is hanging on your wall or sitting up in your attic, you never know!
Marcus Grey is director of Pictures and Prints at Rosebery’s Auctioneers who sell 300-400 lots of pictures every month with a value of £100 and upwards at their salerooms, 74-76 Knight’s Hill, West Norwood, London SE27 0JD.
They are open for valuations Monday to Friday 9.30-am-5.00pm and can be reached on 020 8761 2522 for further information.
Rosebery's, 74 - 76 Knights Hill, West Norwood, London, SE27 OJD, United Kingdom.
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8761 2522 Facsimile: +44 (0) 20 8761 2524 Email: auctions@roseberys.co.uk
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