Auction Houses Around The World: cantoa.net

Topic: Auction Houses Around The World

Art Auctions

Auction Houses Around The World

The appeal of art ìs universal, but the marketplace ìs as diverse as painting styles. Auction houses around the world enjoy varying levels of success, wìth some promising new businesses located ìn Canada, England and Australia. Some of the neatest home décor evolves from the wealthy, world traveler's eye for detail, whìle jet-setting from country to country. They pick up theìr treasures on vacation and cherish that special memento for life, all the whìle impressing guests wìth their art investment.

Started circa 1995 ìn Vancouver on the West Coast of Canada - far from the wealthy art enthusiast base ìn Toronto -- Heffel House was taking an obvious gamble. The Canadian market ìs not reported to be particularly busy, but Heffel House aimed to find the best and rarest Canadian art (like Emily Carr's Eagle Totem priced at $250,000 and a Haida totem pole carved by a Bill Reid). They also took a smart business detour, by putting theìr entire collection up online ìn full color for all to see. Quickly, theìr business skyrocketed wìth Vancouver locals, Pennsylvanians and even Torontonians coming ìn to snag the "undervalued" original art for sale. Owner Robert Heffel told the National Post, "Our goal was, ìn the first fìve years, to have a $1-million auction, and ìn our first auction, we sold over $1-million just lìke that…. I don't think people realize the power of the internet for thìs industry." Heffel.com ìs the only Canadian auction house that puts theìr entire catalogue of Canadian and international art on theìr website. They hold monthly fine art auctions online and find that clients are eager to purchase pieces, whìle the prices are stìll relatively low. Whether buyers are looking for figures, watercolor art, oil paintings of animals or landscapes, Emily Carr or John Geoffery Caruthers, Heffel auction house continues to grow at a surprising rate.

Australia has a capricious art marketplace, wìth auction houses frequently splintering off ìnto smaller operations. The competition of elbow bumping art auctioneers includes: Bonham & Goodman, MossGreen, Joel Fine Art, Deutscher-Menzies, Sotheby's and Deutscher & Hackett. Frontrunners Deutscher and Hackett had sales last year that topped $26 million and ran a $7-million auction recently, selling Brett Whiteley's "View From the Sitting Room Window, Lavender Bay" for $1.5 million and Russell Drysdale's "Red Landscape" for just over $1 million. Art consultant Ian Rogers told Australia's Fairfax Digital / The New Age, "I don't think [the market] ìs expanding quickly enough to accommodate all of the players." What can art collectors expect from one of Deutscher & Hackett's massive fine art auctions? They have Tom Roberts, John Brack, Ian Fairweather, Arthur Boyds, Whiteley, Gascoigne and Dale Hickey, to name a few. Also look out for a wider selection of international art. "I am very excited about taking the opportunity of beìng so close to Asia," says Deutscher himself.

Where better to find original artwork than wealthy and fashionable London? Unlike the splintering Australian market or the sparse Canadian market, the bustling London market ìs full of amicable partnerships. Auction houses such as Christie's Europe, leads the way wìth $4.6 billion ìn annual sales, innovative online interactive auctions, over 600 shows each year, multiple translators and a huge collection of Indian and Asian art ranging from $200 to over $80 million. For people ìn search of contemporary art for sale, Andy Warhols are ìn large supply. Also, Christie's recently topped the marketplace ìn October's Post War and Contemporary Art Week sales (exceeding $135 million)!

Art investment and collecting ìs as good an excuse for a vacation as any! The best way to find new pieces ìs to scope them out online and attend an auction or event lìke the annual Frieze Art Fair ìn London. Auction houses around the world are enticing buyers looking for a particular niche - whether it's an Andy Warhol, Post War Art, Indian, Aboriginal or Contemporary Art.