On that day, it will have been eight months since The Curve started flattening in New York and Los Angeles. The stock market’s wild gyrations will likely have been replaced by the Dow’s slow march back up the hill. So, will the art market have been marching in lockstep with the stock market? From a collector’s standpoint, just what will it look like on that first day of 2021?
For an answer, I turn to Elizabeth von Habsburg, Managing Director of Winston Art Group, America’s largest independent art advisory and appraisal firm.
“It will be a different age, with a lot more technology,” she predicts. Take the ubiquitous art fairs, for instance. “The larger fairs will be back in person, but they will start to be smaller, with an online component. The small fairs will be online permanently.” Many would be relieved by such a development, as it would obviate the need for hop scotching across the globe to attend them all in person.
The burgeoning art fair scene, though, has been a 21st C. phenomenon; its participants are already internet savvy. By contrast, the roots of the auction world date back hundreds of years. (Sotheby’s was founded in 1744, and Christie’s just 22 years later.) A dramatic pivot to an online model would represent an existential shift in the way it does business, and, indeed von Habsburg foresees transition pains. She has already witnessed auctions in which way too many items went unsold; “the first sales were not great- as estimates adjust, though, the rate will improve.” Additionally, once the houses realize that they can move not only the auctions themselves, but much of their staff-work online, they can shed office space and employees.
Traffic flows up York Avenue past Sotheby’s offices in New York City. (Photo by Stephen … [+] Chernin/Getty Images)
Getty Images
“I would imagine, yes, they will shrink their footprints, in the model of Phillips, which has done a great job,” she adds. (N.B.- As of this writing, Sotheby’s has already furloughed 200 staffmembers.)
This transition, though, will be easier for some auctioneers than others. “Sotheby’s and Christie’s have the corporate knowledge and will emerge healthy,” she anticipates. Additionally, as the purveyors of the highest-end works, they will enjoy another advantage. Von Habsburg references Sotheby’s recent online sale for $1.27 million of George Condo’s Antipodal Reunion, “probably the most expensive online sale I have seen.”
George Condo’s “Antipodal Reunion”
Sotheby’s
The profit margin on such high-end sales can be staggering. The item is easily transported, takes up very little room, is easy to research, and has great collector appeal. Pity, then, the poor regional houses, which, to survive, have to take on estates with 50 pieces of mammoth traditional furniture.
In the days when everything was supersized
Liveauctioneers
The logistics surrounding the sale of such items eats mightily into their bottom line. Adding insult to injury, “the markets for these types of items have not been terribly vibrant,” she understates.
Regardless, art fairs and auction houses at least have the advantage of being able to shotgun a broad array of material to collectors. What, then, of the typical retail gallery, which markets just a handful of artists out of its stable? “I think that one-third of the galleries in Los Angeles will close, and I would not be surprised to see 25% close in New York and other major art cities,” she predicts. (Her estimate of the impact on L.A. echoes that of an L.A. Times survey from earlier this week.) Right now, they are all struggling to find their footing on the web, bombarding collectors with news of their new online viewing rooms. “I am receiving too many individual gallery notifications; it feels like 200 per day,” (though she admits that it is not really that many). To reduce such stress on the collecting public, she foresees the galleries coalescing into online collectives, along the lines of the newly minted Gallery Association Los Angeles. 60 Contemporary galleries there have combined their offerings on a single platform, galleryplatform.la, which will open in three weeks.
Granularizing the view down even further, how will individual artists weather the rest of 2020? “These are the people who can least afford this; they will be the hardest hit,” she fears. Consequently, she encourages her own collector clients to “go see what the emerging artists have out there. Jump in!” To get through this, she predicts that isolated painters will need to form communities, not unlike GALA.
The crisis, she believes, can have “a positive outcome. Everyone will pull together to find solutions that will benefit everyone.” If such art world titans as Hauser and Wirth and Gagosian can agree to cohabitate on GALA then maybe, just maybe….
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
