 
The North American Fine Art Auction
"Fine art" is considered as "Art created for purely aesthetic
expression, communication, or contemplation." It can include
paintings, sculptures, dance, printmaking, comics, theater, digital
photography or music. Generally, artists sell fine art through
galleries, stores or a fine art auction. Going to an auction will
give people the best selection and often times a better price than
an individual seller may offer.
Despite the credit crisis, most purchasers who attend a fine art
auction, aren't affected by the middle class squeeze or imploding
housing market, as 6,000 to 7,000 eager bidders appeared at many of
the fine art auctions this year. British abstractionist John Cecil
Stephenson and American graffiti artist Shepard Fairey are expected
to sell very well at prices from 7,500 British pounds to 150,000
pounds.
A recent Christie's art auction in New York City reeled in close to
$395 million in net gains, despite having not sold a few of the
reserves. Big sellers included Matisse's "L'Odalisque, harmonie
bleu" (1937) which went for a record $33.6 million dollars,
following a bidding war. Also, Pablo Picasso's "Femme accroupie au
costume turc (Jacqueline)," painted in 1955, sold for $30.8 million
dollars and his "Homme a la pipe" reached $16.8 million. "The
enduring importance of works of art as a stable and consistent store
of cultural and economic values was demonstrated in tonight's
dazzling sale," said Marc Porter, the head of Christie's America.
Hence proving that to buy original art, as an art investment, is
alive and well.
Similarly, the Canadian art auction set for November 23, 2007 is
expected to draw a large crowd and record breaking sales. There were
encouraging signs at Heffel's fine art auction last May: a Lawren
Harris painting ("Pine Tree and Red House") sold for $2.85 million,
an Emily Carr fetched for $1 million, and the total sales reached
$22.8 Million, which nearly doubled the previous Canadian record! At
the next auction, Heffel will be selling 19 other works by Lawren
Harris and 8 rare pieces done in 1912 by Emily Carr, in addition to
seven Tom Thomsons, three E.J. Hugheses, five Maurice Cullens, four
Jean-Paul Riopelles, seven Frederick Varleys and eight A.J. Cassons.
Just this November, a woman discovered that a painting she had
salvaged from her grandmother's estate sale decades earlier, was
actually a rare Tom Thomson estimated at $250,000 to $350,000! This
artwork will also be featured at the auction. The Heffel auction
hopes to fetch $13 million to $18 million for its 236 lots.
While Canadian art is still undervalued, many people are buying in
with the idea that these pieces will be worth a lot more in the near
future, which is, of course, a reasonable assumption. American fine
art and contemporary art for sale is skyrocketing, as more and more
art bidders realize the value of living artists. While purchasing
art into the millions may seem out of reach for many buyers, one
shouldn't feel daunted by attending a fine art auction. Some pieces
are in the low hundreds too!
Art Auctions Information
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