Auction houses are guaranteeing prices of some top works in this week’s London art sales, which coincide with the worst financial crisis since the Depression.
The sales, which take place at the same time as the Frieze Art Fair, have a total minimum price tag of 107 million pounds ($187 million). Sotheby’s has more than half of its total lot value guaranteed; Christie’s International guarantees 38 percent, meaning both promise fixed prices to vendors whether the art sells or not.
“I’m concerned about the level of guarantees at these auctions,” said London dealer Gerard Faggionato. “I just can’t see people wanting to spend 12 million pounds on a work of art at the moment.”
The auctions starting Oct. 17 pose additional risks to auction houses as banks are bailed out and economic gloom prevails. A survey of U.K. valuers said the Damien Hirst sale last month might have marked the top of the art market.
“Everything appears to be on hold at the moment,” said the London-based art adviser Tania Buckrell Pos, who represents high- net-worth clients in both the developed and emerging economies. “Everyone has a budget, even if they’re a billionaire. These people know when to be prudent. At this time, some of my clients are balancing the decision to buy art against other assets.”
In June, Buckrell Pos paid a record 40.9 million pounds with fees at Christie’s in London for Monet’s 1919 painting “Le Bassin aux Nympheas.” (Bloomberg)