The State of the Art Market, Simply Stated by Gene Shannon
 
The results of our April 30 auction were very encouraging with strong bidding at all price levels. We had twice the number of previewers than we had for our October 2008 sale, and many buyers were new to us.
 
Our clients were looking for alternatives to the stock market and the poor yields they are receiving on their investments. I am sure you remember the Dot-com crash in 1999/2000. It seems to me that 40% was the average market loss back then. We finally made up the losses from that, and BANG there it goes again! Aren't we all tired of this game where only the biggest thrive and the rest of us can't win? It's time to rethink our strategies.
 
It's evident that gold, art and cash are the commodities to retain. These are tangible assets that you can actually touch. They are now, and always have been marketable. Just look at history, it repeats itself, both the good and the bad. Gold, art and cash, over the long term, have been always been excellent investments.
 
As you will see in the following review by David Smith of the Antiques and the Arts Weekly, the market was very receptive to our recent auction, which realized $2,200,000. The demand is there for quality, fresh to the market paintings.
 
This brings me to the price/quality ratio. This ratio almost always works when both factors are lined up. If the quality is overrated or the price is inflated, the artworks will go unsold. This is applicable to a rising market, a middle market or a softer market. If the quality is truly apparent and the estimate is enticing, bidders will enter the competition, and the item will sell, often over high estimate. If the art is fine, the price will reflect it.
 
We are looking forward to our October 29 sale. We invite you to join our excitement. You will have good company in this auction. Already consigned from a prominent estate is a fine work by Winslow Homer which has been off the market for decades. Other fine paintings in the sale are works by Leon Kroll, Anthony Thieme, Hermann Herzog, Francis Augustus Silva, Luigi Lucioni, A.C. Goodwin, Frederick Mulhaupt, and William Morris Hunt. Pending consignments include exceptional paintings by Colin Campbell Cooper, Ernest Lawson and David Johnson.  And we're just getting warmed up...
 
Please give us a call or send an email. I assure you that I or one of my colleagues here at Shannon's will respond candidly and in a timely manner. We look forward to hearing from you.

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