Newsletter September 2015 In this edition: - our legal opinion of the month - Christie’s auction houses are winning - 5 trends in the luxury Art market
Welcome to our Newsletter
Legal opinion of the Month:
“International Law firms are better than firms who only operate locally” More and more law firms start working outside of their countries. Next to collaborations with colleague firms, they invest in knowledge about other legal jurisdictions. This benefits the clients, because they don’t have to keep contacts with different, local focussed advisors. For the clients one contact is more efficient. James Martin & Associates is a unique and flexible lawfirm in the Caribbean (Dutch West Indies) and our attorneys at law spent a lot of time traveling the globe to assist clients in their business and /or private wealth investments. We are convinced that we work more efficient for our clients. Two of our main points of interest are the international collections ‘no cure, no pay’ and the protection of Intellectuel Property. Mostly these legal issues stredge over the entire world - so we keep investing in our knowledge and experience for our high worthy clients. James Martin & Associates September 2015
Christie’s is winning (english)
Dissatisfied shareholders of Sotheby’s are complaining that the company is doning less good than Christie’s. The auctions show that the auction house of the Frence entrepeneur Francois Pinault is performing better. Sotheby’s presented almost the same big names as Christie’s, but the quality of the Picasso’s and Gerhard Richters of Sotheby’s was less - and therefor also the sellingprices in the auction. Sotheby’s sold in 2 nights in 2014 for 583 million dollars, an price of USD 5 million per object. At the Christie’s auction they ended at more than 1 billion dollars, being USD 9 million dollar per object. The connections of Christie’s are better and the marketleader has more trust from her clients worldwide. Another explanation for the big difference might be that Christie’s - not being on the stockmarket herself - is able to make better deals with the sellers. By using financial guarantees the auction house is able to attract sellers with a good quality offer. (Dutch) Ontevreden aandeelhouders van het beursgenoteerde bedrijf Sotheby’s klagen dat het bedrijf minder presteert dan Christie’s. De avondveilingen in mei 2013 onderstrepen dat het veilinghuis van de Franse zakenman François Pinault betere resultaten boekt. Sotheby’s presenteerde nagenoeg dezelfde grote namen als Christie’s. De kwaliteit van de Picasso’s en de Gerhard Richters van Sotheby’s was echter een stuk minder, en dus ook de omzet. Sotheby’s verkocht in 2014 op twee avondveilingen voor 583 miljoen dollar, gemiddeld bijna 5 miljoen per kunstwerk.
Bij Christie’s eindigde de teller in 2014 op ruim 1 miljard dollar, oftewel bijna 9 miljoen dollar per verkocht lot. De connecties van Christie’s zijn dus kennelijk beter en de marktleider geniet meer vertrouwen. Een andere verklaring voor het grote omzetverschil zou kunnen zijn dat Christie’s als niet-beursgenoteerd bedrijf makkelijker garantieafspraken met verkopers kan maken. Bij de veiling van naoorlogse kunst had Christie’s voor liefst 34 van de 72 aangeboden kunstwerken een garantie afgegeven. Met die financiële toezeggingen kan het veilinghuis weifelende inbrengers verleiden en een kwalitatief aantrekkelijk aanbod tot stand brengen.
Auctions. Many records were broken in 2014. Five trents on the auctions of New York and London. 1 Art history sells Night auctions are especially for trophyhunters, collectors /investors who want the best of the best. Christie’s en Sotheby’s both serve these billiardairs with more and more sophisticated sales- and marketingtechniques. It is no coinsidence that the products of both auctionhouses show similarities. Both parties are active in their approach of clients and spent a lot of time and energy to make these night auctions a succes. A balanced, arthistorian good stock is the goal: a triptique of Bacon, a few Picasso’s, one or two Warhols, a Pollock, a Rothko etcetera. Every client received a hand-thick, shiny catalogus, with essays in which the presented works of art, mostly with pictures of old masters, are presented in a histroric context. On the exclusive viewing-days the works are presented as in a museum. „Great works of art inspire great collectors”, says Brett Gorvy, head of the department of post-war art at Christie’s.
2 The Chinese are Trophy hunters Asians, and especially the Chinese, manifest themselves more and more as the biggest trophy hunters. At the auction of Impressionistic and Modern Art of Sotheby’s on May 7th were Azian clients responsible for 30 procent of all sales and they bought the most expensive works of art. Of the 10 most valuable works of art at the auction of post-war art at Christie’s on May 13th half of all the work went to Asian collectors. This included a 3-piece work of Francis Bacon of 80 million dollar. Bill Bell, a colector from Los Angeles, was looking at this with sadness. After he lost a bidding to a Chinese buyer for a work from Andy Warhol, he told to a reporter of The New York Times: „They are like vacuumcleaners - they buy everything.”
3 Christie’s defeats Sotheby’s The night auctions in May 2014 show that that Christie’s, the auction house of the French entrepeneur François Pinault has better results. De connections of Christie’s are apparently more succesfull and the markedleader receives more trust from her high worthy clients.
4 More women artists At the prestigieus night auctions there were - untill recently - not many women artists present. This seems to change. Last week the works of art of Cindy Sherman, Yayoi Kusama and Agnes Martin were sold for more than 3 million dollar. More surpricing even was the fact that Sotheby’s realised a record sale for the 61-year old German female artist Rosemarie Trockel (een wall-cloth of almost 5 million dollar) and the 42-year old British Sarah Lucas (a painting of 905.000 dollar). At Christie’s a decorative work of the Brazilian Beatriz Milhazes was sold for nearly 1,7 million dollar. Extraordinary also was Joan Mitchell (1925-1992). A large painting of this American expressionistic female painter realised at Christie’s nearly 12 million dollar, the highest price ever paid for a work of art of a female artist.
5 More living Artists The stock of masterpieces from great masters as Bacon en Rothko is getting empty. The result: prices of works from living artists go through te ceiling. Works of art from Peter Doig, Richard Prince, Frank Stella, Thomas Schütte, Wade Guyton and Rosemarie Trockel realised last week more than 5 million dollar per piece. Source: NRC d.d. 21 mei 2014. author Arjen Ribbens
Things to remember or check Please check out these items.
·
the international website van Christie’s International Real Estate
·
‘the real estate Collections of R365, in which a second inventory is made of the developments in pricing of the most exclusive real estate in the world
·
Our corporatebrochure, In Dutch a presentation about our unique collections module (in Nederlands) Please feel free to calll or email us
+297 583 4111 Or through our partner R365 in the Netherlands at +31 (0)20 - 26 10 430
[email protected] www.jamesmartinassociates.com L.G. Smith Boulevard 50 Oranjestad, Aruba The Dutch Caribbean
