Wise to Art

January 21st, Christie’s King’s Street brings together 66 lots from Europe under the nomer ‘19th century European Art’. The sale is available for live Internet bidding (link below right). Here are some lots worth consideration:

Lot 28 Georges Michel (French 1763-1843) Saint Denis in a stormy landscape oil on canvas, estimate £ 10-15.000

Exquisite sky rendering by this well-known and proficient landscape painter (detail)

Lot 35 Anselm Friedrich Feuerbach (German, 1829-1880) Studienkopf einer Römerin in Profil nach rechts oil on canvas, estimate £ 20.000 – 30.000

Superb capture of light… (detail)

Lot 45 Alexej Alexejewitsch Harlamoff (Russian, 1840-1925) The dark haired beauty oil on canvas, estimate £120.000-160.000

Minutely elaborate technique… (detail)

Lot 49 Gyula Tornai (Hungarian, 1861-1928) The awakening oil on canvas, estimate £10.000-15.000

Kaleidoscopic… sublime (detail)

Lot 62 Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (Spanish, 1863-1923) Dando Cuerda: Winding the clock oil on canvas laid down on board, estimate £ 60.000-80.000

Bright and gay colouring, announcing the Fauves…

And it was all so predictable… (see my post of 22 September)

After the disorderly panic that ensued after the spectacular fall of the economy – the latter in more than one sense fictional and rather worthy that of the house of Usher – we have come far towards sobering up over art’s true value. Sadly, the only winner seems to be Damien Hirst, having conned the world at the ultimate moment.

Now, as a speculative fool having let yourself go in the cunningly orchestrated folly, what do you do now with your silly stuffed shark? Well, according to the Economist:

Edward Dolman, Christie’s chief executive told The Economist on December 18th. “We’ve seen confidence dwindle away. People are not certain where prices are. Buyers all round are being very circumspect.” Death, divorce and debt will continue to provide artworks for the auction market. But discretionary sellers, who don’t have to sell, are likely to want to sit it out until things improve. “We’re not predicting much discretionary selling at all next year,” Mr Dolman said.

Well, the incredibly brainless Hirst collectors are in for a long wait if they want to sit it out!

It is with great pleasure that one sees crap once again treated as crap and Hirst’s creations losing appeal. He will go down in history though, for all that incredible money that so astutely changed pockets for so little return … In my opinion, in a couple of years Hirst’s art will value two times zero.

If you bought something by Hirst, sell as quickly as you can ;)

The essential characteristic of art is that it initiates and spurs thought or feeling. A dumb work is not a work of art. Other fundamental qualities are implicitness and evocativeness. In these simple, often dual and sometimes contradictive criteria lies the kernel of all art.

However, in order to perceive and appreciate at all, you need to be receptive to the specific affective or intellectual stimulus of the particular art form. Two-dimensional visual art will not necessarily appeal to the same sensibility as does music or literature. Essentially it’s a question of a favourable physiological constitution, a naturally developed mental or emotive penchant and the presence or lack of an appropriate initiation/education. Once favourably equipped, the question of whether “art” is present or not in a proposed work is quickly settled.

In the drab human everyday reality of factual subsistence, social organisation and material preoccupancy, art helps us to stay in line and to get along. More desirable than the real world, more beautiful, more righteous, the world of art forms a barrier against sordidness.

Art is essential to human existence, the market isn’t. The art market may go bust; art keeps its pre-eminent place in the human adventure. The market is justly based on value and any value can be monetized. Short of discrimination, the art market, as any market, follows the eternal laws of offer and demand. What is monetary successful will be purported as art and marketed regardless of the actual intrinsic quality. This is the world we live in.