How to Choose the Right Auction House for Your Art

The high end art market is dominated by three main auction houses, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips de Pury & Luxembourg. These three powerhouses have existed for centuries. When choosing an auction house from these three for your art, it’s important to take a variety of factors into consideration.

Guarantees

Obviously money is an important factor in selling your art. Many auction houses’ success has stemmed from their guarantees, which ensure that the seller receives the amount of money they expect for their art regardless of how much it is is sold for at the auction.

Guarantees, however, can lead to conflict, especially when the top three high end auction houses are trying to work with a limited number of the same collectors. Remember that money is not normally the deciding factor when collectors are choosing an auction house. Clients often place more importance on personal relationships and the auction house’s past record.

Relationships

Personal relationships are one of the most important factors in choosing an art auction house. These days, clients have a lot to be worried about: dips in the economy, terrorist attacks, and talk of price fixing. They’re looking for an art auction house that is reassuring, personal, and professional. In a consignment based industry such as art auctions, networking and word of mouth referrals are extremely important. Each of the auction houses have different connections with sellers, clients, and fields.

Field Speciality

Each of the three high end houses have unique specialties. Sotheby’s is known for their expertise in American furniture and photography, while Christie’s specializes in European furniture, as well as books and manuscripts. While to an extent Phillips is still establishing its business, the auction house seems to be focusing on Impressionist, Modern, and contemporary art. Phillips now also includes one of the top automobile auctioneers, Bonham & Brooks. The best auction house will have a specialty that matches your art.

Track Record

Past performance is another important factor to take into consideration when selecting an art auction house. Christie’s is one of the world’s top art auction houses. In 2000 they had $2.3 billion in sales! Sotheby’s, on the other hand, has won 20 of the top 25 single-owner sales. These included the estate sales of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It’s important to choose an art auction house with a track record that matches your goals.

When selecting one of the top three high-end auction houses, you need to consider their financial guarantees, the relationships you’ll be able to build, their field speciality, and past track record.

 

Inside the AI-Created Piece of Art

The day has come where Artificial Intelligence is now creating works of art. Many of us never thought we would see the day, and for many more of us, the thought that this day might come never even occurred to us. But, “robots” are creating art – and the first piece has sold for $432,500.

The high price tag was unexpected, as officials predicted it to go for anywhere between $7,000 and $10,000. That is the beauty of auctions such as Christie’s, the art house in NYC where this was sold. Christie’s wonders if AI art creation is the next big medium for the world stage.

The AI system that created this artwork, which is titled “Portrait of Edmond Belamy,” was constructed with a learning algorithm; both the AI system and the algorithm were designed by an art collective in Paris called Obvious.

There are similarities to this painting that compare to those famous ones through history. Many believe the subject matter, Edmond Belamy, is a man of the church due to his white collar and dark clothes. The man looks toward the painter in an austere manner with a fixed but abstract background. Conversely, the face is less defined than those in many paintings which it would be compared to. Christie’s offers this difference, along with the empty areas of the background.

The painting was described by Richard Lloyd, sale organizer at Christie’s, as not being much different from those that they have been selling for hundreds of years.
The process, on the other hand, was vastly different than any other painting that has been through Christie’s. Obvious, the art collective, put a total of 15,000 portraits from between the 14th and 20th centuries into the Artificial Intelligence learning system, then activated the “Generator” to create a new image. After the “Generator,” the next step is the “Discriminator,” which works to find the differences between the original portraits and those generated. The goal is, essentially, to fool the discriminator.

Obvious has experienced with AI-created art in many subjects, from portraits and life scenes to nature, but have found their best results with traditional style portraits.

While this may open up questions about who the official artist is to receive credit, Obvious chose to “sign” the painting at the bottom, not with a name, but with a part of the algorithm they created.

How to Start an Art Collection for Beginners

No matter what your age is, if you have always admired art and have wanted to have your own art collection to view, appreciate, and enhance your home, following are some suggestions as to how you can slowly begin this exciting and unique hobby/investment:

 

Research Before Buying

 

Have the fun of getting to know what type of art and which artists really appeal to you. You can do a lot of that online at your leisure, but it is even more enjoyable if you are able to go to art galleries, openings, exhibitions, and art fairs to get a major feel for what will really “turn you on.”

 

Find out about the artists, their various works, what their styles are, the galleries where they have been featured and shows they have been in, their previous sales, and as much information as you can put together.

 

A great many artists will also sell their art for extremely reasonable prices on their own websites or on Instagram because they don’t have to pay all the extra costs involved in commissions when represented by galleries. You can also save money by going to auctions during the off-season.

 

Making Purchases

 

Once you have looked at length, realize what your particular tastes are, and you suddenly see something that jumps out at you and is within your budget, go ahead and make the purchase. You will stretch your dollars if you consider an emerging artist that is new with his or her career but is being successful at making sales as compared to a popular and established artist.

 

Consider Prints or Multiples

 

If you just “have” to own a certain piece of art or photographs offered by a particular artist but just cannot afford an original, there are often prints available at a much lower price. For example, check out benefit auctions where the proceeds will go to a specific charity that you are happy to help sponsor.

 

What is Editioned Work?

 

That means that a set number of the prints or photographs has been designated, and once that number has been sold, no more can be purchased. In addition to your knowledge that you have something unique, there is a better chance of the piece increasing in value over time because of being a limited edition.

 

For Pleasure or as an Investment

 

Whichever way you decide to dedicate your art collection, the main idea is to have something delightful to look at and which will add to your decor. ENJOY!

 

What to Know about Robin Williams’ Art Collection Sale

The late comedian and Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams was known for his wild standup routines and a wide variety of movie and television performances.

 

Maybe that is why his collection of artwork bears a similar diverse portfolio of some extraordinary and eclectic pieces.

 

Sotheby’s New York is selling the art collection owned by Williams and his former wife Marsha on Thursday, October 4th. The sale is titled: “Creating a Stage: The Collection of Marsha and Robin Williams,” and now the public will have the chance to bid on these personal items. Williams was married to Marsha Garces Williams for 20 years, and the couple was avid collectors.

 

The Williams family has decided that proceeds from the auction will be divided among several of the late star’s favorite charities. Some of these organizations include the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Juilliard School, Wounded Warrior Project and Challenged Athletes Foundation.

 

The sale is expected to realize between $3.3 million to $4.7 million, according to Sotheby’s New York.

 

Robin Williams was revered for his unique sense of humor, and the range of objects from his interesting art collection that he shared with his then-wife Marsha reflects their vision. The works feature pricey sculptures, paintings, timepieces, sports and movie memorabilia, a selection of bicycles and design.

 

For instance, the first edition of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (est. $1,500–2,500) is up for auction. Williams starred with Steve Martin in the 1988 production at Lincoln Center.

 

A Gryffindor robe worn by actor Daniel Radcliffe in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is also up for grabs (est. $10,000-$15,000).

 

Robin Williams’s Golden Globe award for his winning role in “Good Morning Vietnam” will also be up on the auction block for bidding (est. $15,000–20,000).

 

A colorful and striking contemporary sculpture titled ” Le poète et sa muse” by artist Niki de Saint-Phalle is also part of the art collection sale (est. $350-450,000).

 

Even the actor’s famous Hollywood Walk of Fame star plaque (1990) can be bid on by the public (est. $3,000-5,000). It was presented to Williams by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce on the day of the placement of his star.

 

Robin Williams was 63 when he committed suicide in 2014. It was reported that he was suffering from depression.

 

Artists Not Known Until After Death

An oft-repeated (though false) account states that Moby Dick author Herman Melville was so underappreciated during his lifetime, the New York Times referred to him as “Henry Melville” in his obituary. While this story is untrue, there can be no doubt that many artists don’t receive their due until after they’ve shed this mortal coil. Here’s a look at some of these latter-sung heroes.

 

Vincent van Gogh

It’s true: The genius behind The Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night, as well as a legion of other influential works, sold only one painting during his lifetime. (Trivia buffs, take note: It was Red Vineyard at Arles.) His style didn’t fit with the Impressionists of the age, with critics denouncing it as too moody and dark.

 

Paul Gauguin

The post-Impressionist painter would later be a significant influence on fellow avant-garde artists, Matisse and Picasso among them, but he didn’t receive many kudos while he was still living. His experimental works were just a little too ahead of their time.

 

Claude Monet

It seems that leaders always bear the brunt of the battle, even in the relatively genteel world of paint and canvas. Monet was a founding father of the Impressionist movement, and as such was seen as something of a renegade for his use of light colors and proclivity for landscape scenes.

 

Georges-Pierre Seurat

Even if the name is unfamiliar, even amateurs are likely to recognize Seurat’s most iconic oil painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. He relied heavily on color to achieve the mood he wanted for his work, something that wasn’t widely appreciated at the time. Nor was his signature technique, Pointillism, which uses many tiny brush dots to create a bigger image. Both conceits have gone on to become art class staples.

 

Julia Margaret Cameron

This British photographer had a reputation for getting up close and personal with her subjects, creating intimate portraits that were perhaps a shade too revealing for the critics of her day. She passed away in 1879, but her work didn’t become widely seen or appreciated until 1948–nearly three-quarters of a century later.