A New York Times article that ran on September 15, 2008.
It wasn’t long ago, September 2008 to be precise, that the prices for work by big-name contemporary artists seemed to maintain their stratospheric heights and defy the crashing financial markets, most famously in Damien Hirst’s Sotheby’s sale in London that set new records even as the major stock indexes were in free-fall.That phenomenon is over according to an article in today’s New York Times about a recent Sotheby’s sale in New York where many works failed to make their estimates.
It is interesting to note that Times reporter Carol Vogel observed that while Jeff Koons’ Baroque Egg with Bow (Turquoise/Magenta) (1994 – 2006) was bought by his dealer Larry Gagosian for less than the $6 million low estimate, a less flashy artist set a career-high price for a self-portrait. A technically accomplished 1988 Martin Kippenberger painting fetched $4.1 million, a record for the artist.
Having avoided the excesses of the overheated contemporary art market, will prices for work in glass better maintain their values? Stay tuned.
