THE MARKET IS DOWN BUT CASHBOX IS NOT HURTING

Still Life with Cash Box, Roy Lichtenstein, 1976, sold at Christie's on May 12 for $1,986,500

The numbers are in and the market is down....again. On May 12, Sotheby's sold 39 of 48 lots for a total of $47,033, 500 while Christie's May 13, 2009 sale achieved $93.7 million and sold 49 of 50 lots. Artnet Magazine reported that the total price of the Christie's sale was down considerably from just twelve months ago. In May 2008 the sale price at Christie's for the night was $348 million. In fact, just six months ago, the total sum was $113.6 million. On the upside, the rate of decline during the last eighteen months has slowed and while there were some considerable 'deals', record prices were achieved at the sale. Among the record prices were David Hockney's 1966-67 work entitled Beverly Hills Housewife which sold for $7,922,500 and Roy Lichtenstein's Still Life with Cash Box from 1976 which sold for $1,986,500.

Engraved by Paul Revere in 1768 and handcolored in 1770 by Christian Remick, 9 3/4" X 15 1/2", sold at Northeast Auctions March sale for $469,000

It is not just the large auction houses which have reported high highs and low lows. At Northeast Auctions (Manchester, NH) March 21 & 22 sale the total realized price was $1.786 million. While 1000 of the 1103 lots sold, the prices for most of the lots were down considerably. The sale of a very nice Queen Anne highboy proved that even furniture was not immune. Just nine months ago the very same piece which sold for $90,000 brought $55,575 in this sale. In fact, it was just two rare lots that brought the total up for the night including a rare Paul Revere engraved print of troops landing in Boston as well as an ivory portrait in miniature of George Washington.

MEMORIAL DAY ART

Philadelphia Patriotic Scene, Frank Godwin, Gouache on board, 18 1/2" X 17",
American Illustrators Gallery (212) 744-5190 Send Email

BASKETS AT EASTER

If you celebrate Easter, you are probably familiar with the traditionally shaped Easter Basket. Usually, these "wicker" or "splint" baskets are made from williow, cane, or reed. In the U.S., Nantucket Baskets and Williamsburg baskets are common. You may be surprised to learn that basket making is one of the oldest crafts known to man. Because of the organic materials baskets are made from it is difficult to know just how old the craft acutally is. However, the oldest-known baskets have been carbon dated from 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. This is longer than any known examples of pottery. Today, the craft of basketmaking has evolved to suit the tastes of our times. Now, more than ever, baskets are more than utilitarian vessels. Consider the "Jacaranda Basket" seen above. This basket was made by Michael and Christine Adcock of Adcock Studios. Mr. Adcock studied art and ceramics at the University of California Santa Cruz, taking a traditional route in art by becoming a studio potter. On the other hand, Mrs. Adcock studied art at the University of California and then contacted traditional weavers who taught her the craft. Her route was less traditional as she arranged to live and apprentice on the Papago Reservation. Together, these two artists collaborate to create vessels made of clay and natural fibers. Like many other basketmakers throughout the world, their innovations have helped elevate the craft of basketmaking to an art form.

This Easter, as you watch the children gather their eggs in wicker (or plastic) baskets consider the ancient form. Remember that the shape of the basket is an ancient one that ties us to distant lands and earlier peoples. It reminds us that while many things may change many more remain the same. The art and craft of basket making continues.

PONZI SCHEME "MADOFF" WITH ART COLLECTOR'S CASH

Jasper Johns, Diver, 1962 owned by Norman Braman is on ArtNews 'Ten most Wanted Works of Art" list

The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) listed him as a benefactor in their 2005-2006 capital campaign but Bernie Madoff has likely hurt the arts more than any other individual in history with his Ponzi scheme.

For those that don't know, a Ponzi scheme is a duplicitous investment deal that involves the promise of abnormally high profits to investors. The money paid to early investors is gleamed from later investors rather than from returns generated by an actual business.

At age 95, Carl J. Shapiro, a prominent Boston art patron and the former director of Vanity Fair Corporation was one of Mr. Madoff's most unsuspecting victims. Shapiro and his wife, Ruth's namesake foundation, "The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation" lost a shocking $145 million in the Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Foundation was a large contributor to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston, and the Norton Museum in Palm Beach. Mr. Shapiro was also a strong advocate for the foundation of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Even more unfortunate was the fact that Mr. Shapiro was one of Mr. Madoff's most loyal investors and introduced him to many of his other future "investors" at their shared country club in Palm Beach.

But Mr. Shapiro was not the only wealthy art patron to lose money with Madoff. Norman Braman, a billionaire, former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, and owner of many important and coveted paintings including Jasper John's Diver (which is on ArtNews 'Ten Most Wanted Works of Art' List) was also duped.

RARE FINDS FETCH RECORD PRICES

Aubrey Beardsley, The Climax, Pen & Ink, Sold $213,300, Skinner, Nov. 16, 2008

♦

Last week I had a discussion with another art person about why understanding the history and availability of an item or item is important to market value. This led us into a deep debate about whether or not value is determined by more than past sales figures. As an appraiser, I know that it is, and, hoping that person will read this article I am going to illustrate the point.

Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) was born in Brighton England in 1872 but his family moved to London in 1883. After several different jobs including a stint in an architect’s office and with an insurance company, Beardsley settled on art as his profession on the advice of Sir Burne-Jones. In 1892 he attended the Westminster School of Art.

Eventually, Beardsley became a caricaturist, an illustrator, and most importantly a provocateur. He was, by far, the most controversial artist of the Art Nouveau period—often depicting dark subjects and the grotesque. But today, it is the work he completed while working with Oscar Wilde on his play Salome that has captured the art world’s attention.

An appraiser near Boston was conducting a routine inspection of an older client’s items when he walked into the bathroom and spotted two of Beardsley’s original drawings over the vanity. The drawings, entitled The Platonic Lament and The Climax are part of only 13 illustrations Beardsley completed for the Oscar Wilde play. Incredibly, the client inherited the works from his grandfather forty years ago and had no idea of their importance. Nine of the pieces are held by the Fogg Museum at Harvard and the whereabouts of these two pieces had been unknown for more than eighty years.

The Climax (pictured) was auctioned for $213,300 (a world record for Beardsley’s work) and The Platonic Lament auctioned for $142,200. Collectors realized that this was likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire two of the final three pieces of the suite created for Salome. Certainly it was not just those interested in collecting Beardsley’s works that were interested in purchasing the pieces. There are also those who collect items related to Oscar Wilde or to Wilde’s plays that were likely interested in the illustrations as well.

Some credit must also be paid to the astute appraiser who recognized the significance of the pieces when he saw them. What if the client had simply had an “estate sale” conducted by someone who was not familiar with Beardsley. Those pieces might have sold for a fraction of what they were worth or they may have never been discovered at all.

For those of you who are counting, there is still one missing illustration. It is entitled Enter Herodias and if it is found it could possibly break the record set in November.

ELLIS WILSON, GREAT KENTUCKY ARTIST

Ellis Wilson, c. 1950s Oil on composite board, 30.5" X 29.25", Aaron Douglas Collection, Amistad Research Center, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

Chances are, if you live in Kentucky, you have never heard of Ellis Wilson. Wilson was born in Mayfield, Kentucky in 1899. His works capture the average lives of black people and black culture in both the Southern United States and in Haiti. The artist was known for his proficiency with color and his ability to use simplified forms to the maximum effect. Although he attended two years of college at Kentucky State University, Wilson left at age 19 to study art at the Art Institute of Chicago. After graduation, the artist struggled for five years in Chicago trying to make it in the commercial arts business. Eventually, he gave up and moved to New York where he became very involved in the “New Negro Art Movement” of the 1920s and 1930s. He remained in New York for the duration of his life.
During the height of his career in the 1930s and 1940s, Wilson was well-received and gained some prominence but he was never widely known while he was alive. After the artist’s death in 1977, he was largely forgotten in his home state. Then, in the 1985 The Bill Cosby Show decided to use a Wilson painting on the set. In the episode, Mrs. Huxtable acquired the painting, Funeral Procession, from an auction for $11,500 claiming it was made by her “Great Uncle Ellis” and soon after Dr. Huxtable hung the painting on the mantle. The painting remained over the mantle for the duration of the Cosby Show and ultimately, the exposure revived the interest in the artist.
On December 6, 2008 Neal Auction Company in New Orleans will be offering the paintings below for sale. You can bid online here.

Ellis Wilson, Cooling Cylinders, Cooling, Oil on Silk, 16" X 20", Neal Auction Company (lot 390), will be auctioned on 12-6-08, Estimate: $15,000-$25,000, BID HERE

Ellis Wilson, Colonnade, Promenade, Oil on Masonite, 24.5" X 37.5", Neal Auction Company (lot 386), will be auctioned on 12-6-08, Estimate: $10,000-$20,000 BID HERE

THANKSGIVING ART

Thanksgiving, John Currin, Ink and Gouache on Paper, 15" X 18",

Available Through Sadie Coles in London

John Currin was born 1962. His paintings depict provocative themes and he has often been accused of being a sexist. Despite this, Currin is noted for his technical skill, his studied compositions, and his exaggerated depictions of the female form. His work proves that he has a vast knowledge of both art history and popular culture.