Bidding on Beauty

(Christie's / Associated Press / November 13, 2013)

In the past few weeks, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s have had incredibly successful and lucrative auction sales. These auctions have consistently been bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars, often for the work of modern and contemporary artists, not just that of the old masters. For example, on Tuesday, Francis Bacon’s “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” sold for 142.4 million dollars as part of a postwar and contemporary art auction at Christie’s in New York. This three-panel piece of art has broken the monetary record for a work of art sold at auction at this institution, and this particular event at Christie’s represents the auction with the highest sales total in history. Similarly, on Wednesday, Andy Warhol’s “Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster)” sold for 105.4 million dollars, as part of Sotheby’s auction of contemporary art, which represents a record amount for this pop artist.

In addition, earlier in the month of November, Christie’s sold a Picasso piece titled “Claude et Paloma” to Wang Jianlin, the president of the Dalian Wanda Group and the richest man in China. This piece sold for 28.2 million dollars, nearly 20 million dollars more than what Christie’s estimated it would sell for (9-12 million dollars). The Warhol piece mentioned earlier also sold for a much higher price than what was originally estimated by Sotheby’s, which was between 60 and 80 million dollars. Many pieces of artwork at these auctions have been selling for incredibly large amounts of money, and the Los Angeles Times even claims that Wang Jianlin overpaid for his Picasso. 

These recent major sales of art, and many others that have occurred in the last few years, really exemplify the shifts that are taking place in the contemporary art market. As I mentioned in my previous blog post concerning the emerging art market in China, art is now becoming a type of currency, used by the wealthy and powerful of some countries to enhance their status in society as connoisseurs of the arts. According to the LA Times, Wang Jianlin “flexed his muscles on the international art market Tuesday by purchasing a Picasso painting for $28.2 million.” To me, this statement implies that Wang Jianlin’s purchase was more of a display of his wealth and power, rather than his appreciation of Picasso’s work. 

Art is also now considered a considerable and conservative investment due to the fact that most art increases in value with the passage of time. This tendency to treat art and artifacts as commodities has the potential to become an unnerving issue in the near future. Art will always be highly valued and subsequently sold on the international art market and at auction houses around the world. However, as soon as art becomes a small piece within a larger financial vehicle, it ceases to be art and is in danger of losing its aesthetic worth. I do not believe that art will ever be realistically separated from commercialism, nor do I believe it should it be. However, art is meant to be enjoyed and respected, not treated as a substitute for stocks and bonds. 

Check out these links that helped inspire this entry in Museum Musings! 
Wang Jianlin Article
Christie's Article
Sotheby's article