Tefaf 2016: USA, UK and China together hold 87% of the art market
While the world economy is slowly recovering from the recent turmoil in global markets, and London is getting ready to reform the non-dom special tax status, wealthy collectors from all over the world are attending in Maastricht the 29th edition of the Tefaf, “the world’s leading art fair”, as the Netherlander institution founded in 1988 proudly calls itself. And they are most likely buying some of the expensive works of art, furniture and jewels that the 269 participating galleries are here exhibiting (until 20th March). They are buying for them, for their museums, or for the museums that they support, and apparently they are expected to spend a lot of money this year, despite the weak global stock markets.
According to the annual Tefaf Art Market Report, so far the leading and most respected source of data on the Ar(t)lantis’ economy, the global sales fell last year from $68.2bn to $63.8bn (-7%) and the volume of the sales declined too, -2%. But in the same period the sales of the million dollar plus pieces grew of a spectacular 400%, and those over 10 million also outperformed reaching a worrisome +1000%, that is to say the 28% of total sales by value despite representing only the 0.1% of overall transactions in the fine art auctions market. And, it was the only segment of the market to increase in value over 2015: +19%. Needless to say that Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Piketty, and Angus Deaton will be glad to hear that despite their efforts inequality is still growing. Although the new point here is that apparently inequality is growing also among the lucky 0.01% of the global population, and it is growing very fast indeed.
Moreover, following two years of significant growth, sales at auction fell by 14% with a 20% drop in number of transactions somehow proving that the super-rich may tend to buy privately and out of competition, as proved also by the fact that private sales by dealers and other agents accounted for 53% of the total market by value (+2% year-on-year). Auction houses are still the big fish in the small pond, since likely their actual 47% share of the market represents less than 10 operators. But it should also be taken into account that not all of the private sales are traceable and private sales are mostly based on personal relationship between the dealer and the buyer.
Therefore we may say that also this year, and probably in more radical ways, polarization is the real core of the matter on A(r)tlatis. Only the highest quality survives in the very high end of the art system, and English speaking countries are leading the market. In fact USA confirms once again to be the main player on the scene, with 43% share of the total sales values (+4%). While the good news is that UK overtook China at position number two. In 2015 this latter experienced a -22% in total sales of fine arts, while the United Kingdom grew at 21%. That is to say, US+UK versus the rest of the world, while Europe is still discussing how to proceed, after Mario Draghi announced negative interest rates.
Indeed, the quite small but beautiful Rembrandt presented by Talabardon and Gautier has been sold to the Leiden Collection in New York. The Paris-based dealers specialized in “pompier” painting spotted the piece last September at an auction in New Jersey. The piece, wrongly attributed to “continental school” and dated 19th century, was estimated to sell around $800. They won the betting war offering 1 million dollars. And now, a few months later, the painting will go back to the United States.
A few hours after the opening it was not the only main piece already sold. Colnaghi, at its first main art fair after the merging with Coll y Cortés, announced the sale of the magnificent and remarkably well-preserved still life by Roelandt Savery to The Mauritshuis museum for $6.5 million. The purchase was made possible thanks to the generous support of the BankGiro Lottery, the Rembrandt Association, and a private individual. In this case the buyer managed to buy the piece before the opening of the fair. The gallery sold also the monumental Luca Giordano (The calling of Saint Peter and Andrew) to a not better specified a young collector – apparently in his 30s, and that is another good news.
In the section dedicated to paintings, the one we explored this time, other good pieces are still available. Not far from Colnaghi, Galerie Sanct Lucas is presenting a nice small crucifixion by El Greco that Letizia Ruiz Gomez, an expert about the Spanish artist working at the Prado Museum, recently brought to light and published (December 2015). Two other versions of this painting are known, one in Toledo and the other in Valencia. But, according to the dealer, this is the best preserved one so far, and that is motivating the €4.2 million they ask for acquiring it. When we spoke with them the hypnotic Henry Moret at their booth was already sold, as announced by a proud red spot on the painting’s label. Last week in New York an emerging art dealer told us that red spots on painting’s label are like applauding the pilot after the landing. Well, we may say that at the Tefaf there are plenty of people shamelessly applauding the pilot.
You need €5.5 million to buy the early Bernardo Bellotto presented by Richard Green, but the piece is extraordinary well preserved and lively. As lively as the delicate Young woman feeding the parrot painted by the virtuos Caspar Netscher, also on exhibition at the gallery. A second Bernardo Bellotto is on offer at Moretti Gallery, which this year is presenting just a single modern piece, a beige square by Alighiero Boetti. The trend of refreshing old masters with modern and contemporary art pieces apparently is not a trend any more, at least here at the Tefaf. Clients – and the big ones are museums, as our brief enquiry does prove – want masterpieces not aesthetics. In order to find them you need to focus your attention on relatively small areas and people.
In fact, we spotted some pieces that were already here during the last edition, or that have been recently presented in other fine art fairs. As, for instance, the delicate portrait of Jane Morris executed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1869. It belongs to scholar Virginia Surtee – the author of the definitive catalogue raisonné of Dante Gabriel Rossetti – who in 2014, at the age of 97, put her collection of artworks on auction at Christie’s, with the exception of this piece. Now the drawing is for sale at $2.2 million – while last year the price was $2.5. Similarly, the unfinished Bathsheba at the Bath by Massimo Stanzione presented here by Maurizio Canesso was previously exhibited at Paris Tableau last November, where we also saw the Portrait of Mardochee by Anne-Louis Girodet – at Galerie Jean-Francois Heim – and the wired Portrait of a nun by an unknown artist, at Carlo Virgilio. We haven’t enquired about the price of these works, but their presence at the Tefaf means either that you should negotiate before buying, or that the dealers are just waiting for that collector willing to pay them what they want. We would go for the second option. Generally who buys slow also sells slow.
March 11, 2016
