$20.1m
January 7 2015
Picture: TAN
That's the amount which, according to Melanie Girlis in The Art Newspaper, Sotheby's spent defending itself against the criticism of their shareholder, Dan Loeb - in the first nine months of 2014 alone. That's nearly half Sotheby's profit for the entire period. $20.1m. I can hardly believe it.
The article is an interesting one. First, it looks at the lack of profitability on those 'mega sales' of modern and contemporary art:
“Both houses are after headline prices, which limits profitability,” Schick says, attributing this to “a number of soft years” since the 2008 downturn. Plus, the auction houses have been offering incentives such as guarantees and profit shares to prime sellers.
“They’ve made it harder by competing against each other … you hear about some suicidal deals,” says Pilar Ordovas, a London dealer, formerly the deputy chairman of Christie’s Europe’s post-war and contemporary art department.
Also, Girlis quotes the chief executive of Phillips, Edward Dolman, as saying:
hat the “massive change in taste” towards contemporary and Modern art should lead to certain departments going—he cites furniture and even Old Masters. “They could shed half of their business,” he says.
While 'the money' is indeed currently chasing modern and contemporary art, I don't believe for a second that Christie's and Sotheby's Old Master departments are going anywhere. I think to suggest they are is bulls**t, frankly. Earlier today I reported that The Louvre was the most visited museum in the world, with half its visitors under 30. You won't find any contemporary art there. People will always want Old Masters, and if they're cheap - at the moment - then that suits me fine.
Finally, Girlis tells us that profits at Bonhams were 'more than £30m for 2013'. The secret of their success? They've gone in the opposite direction, and have more than 60 departments, catering for everything from clocks to Spitfires. If you're ever looking for the sorts of things you can't find on Amazon, or in Harrods, chances are you'll buy it at Bonhams.
