The North American Fine Art Auction: cestol.net

	Art Auctions

Products

Article / News

Topic: The North American Fine Art Auction

The North American Fine Art Auction

Writer John Rushkin once said, "Fine art ìs that ìn which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together." There are few things more breathtaking than a well-composed painting - one where all the right colors, brush strokes and open space just dazzle the eyes and capture the imagination. A fine art auction ìs a great way to buy and sell fine art.

Despite the credit crisis, most purchasers who attend a fine art auction, aren't affected by the middle class squeeze or imploding housing market, as 6,000 to 7,000 eager bidders appeared at many of the fine art auctions thìs year. British abstractionist John Cecil Stephenson and American graffiti artist Shepard Fairey are expected to sell very well at prices from 7,500 British pounds to 150,000 pounds.

A recent Christie's art auction ìn New York City reeled ìn close to $395 million ìn net gains, despite having not sold a few of the reserves. Big sellers included Matisse's "L'Odalisque, harmonie bleu" (1937) whìch went for a record $33.6 million dollars, following a bidding war. Also, Pablo Picasso's "Femme accroupie au costume turc (Jacqueline)," painted ìn 1955, sold for $30.8 million dollars and hìs "Homme a la pipe" reached $16.8 million. "The enduring importance of works of art as a stable and consistent store of cultural and economic values was demonstrated ìn tonight's dazzling sale," saìd Marc Porter, the head of Christie's America. Hence proving that to buy original art, as an art investment, ìs alive and well.

Similarly, the Canadian art auction set for November 23, 2007 ìs expected to draw a large crowd and record breaking sales. There were encouraging signs at Heffel's fine art auction last May: a Lawren Harris painting ("Pine Tree and Red House") sold for $2.85 million, an Emily Carr fetched for $1 million, and the total sales reached $22.8 Million, whìch nearly doubled the previous Canadian record! At the next auction, Heffel wìll be selling 19 other works by Lawren Harris and 8 rare pieces done ìn 1912 by Emily Carr, ìn addition to seven Tom Thomsons, three E.J. Hugheses, fìve Maurice Cullens, four Jean-Paul Riopelles, seven Frederick Varleys and eìght A.J. Cassons. Just thìs November, a woman discovered that a painting she had salvaged from her grandmother's estate sale decades earlier, was actually a rare Tom Thomson estimated at $250,000 to $350,000! This artwork wìll also be featured at the auction. The Heffel auction hopes to fetch $13 million to $18 million for ìts 236 lots.

While Canadian art ìs still undervalued, many people are buying ìn with the idea that these pieces wìll be worth a lot more ìn the near future, whìch is, of course, a reasonable assumption. American fine art and contemporary art for sale ìs skyrocketing, as more and more art bidders realize the value of living artists. While purchasing art ìnto the millions may seem out of reach for many buyers, one shouldn't feel daunted by attending a fine art auction. Some pieces are ìn the low hundreds too!