Is anybody buying art these days?

The New York Times reports.

The jpeg market is over

The NYT reports on the crash in the art market.

The manner in which art is purchased will probably become more conventional too. In the flush years it was common for auction houses to sell to people who never actually saw a work live but bought simply based on an e-mailed image or a picture in a catalog. “The jpeg market is over,” Mr. Meyer said. “We’re getting back to selling art you really have to look at.”

Down, down, down (2)

Artinfo reports on the "funereal mood" at the London auctions.

"We obviously need to adjust our pricing," said Christie’s London contemporary head Pilar Ordovas at the post-sale press conference.

Down, down, down

Sotheby's stock price over the last six months:

A chilly Frieze?

"A lot of people just aren't in the mood to spend": The Wall Street Journal reports on the lowered expectations of the Frieze Art Fair.

Back to the Future

Now that the end of the art boom may be in sight, it is good to look back a year or twenty:
- The Art Boom: Is It Over, or Is This Just a Correction? (The NY Times, December 1990)
- The Market's Blue Period (The NY Times, May 1992)

The end of the boom?

According to The Times "investors in stamps, jewels and wines may not escape the global economic downturn".

Rics spokesman Andrew Davies of AXA art insurance says: “There is an urban myth that fine art and antiques are recession-proof. This is wrong. This market lags behind the economic cycle by around a year to 18 months. So people should not rely on it. (...) The bottom end of the market is dead. I went to an contemporary art auction last week where there were 283 lots and only 82 lots sold. That is appalling. Those that did not sell were in the £1,000 to £5,000 range."