Auctions are losing American customers
ARTinvestment.RU   02 июня 2008

After the end of a series of spring auctions Impressionist painting, modern and contemporary art in New York by Sotheby

Since the end of a series of spring auctions Impressionist painting, modern and contemporary art in New York by Sotheby's and Christie's, experts from both auction houses were able to assess the results and draw some conclusions about the composition of the target audience of such trades.

It is not simple: on behalf of clients participating in the auction a huge number of art dealers and consultants, and sometimes even impossible to find out where to finally leave work purchased.

officially published statistics are as follows: at the evening auction Impressionist and modern art Sotheby's May 7th, 2008, 67 per cent of buyers were Americans, at an auction May 15 - only 54 per cent.

As for the Christie's, here at the auction May 6, 2008 only 32 percent of participants are actively traded and bought lots were from America, while 52 percent bought the work went to Europe, including in Russia. At the bidding war and contemporary art, held next week, already 70 per cent of buyers were Americans and only 26 - the Europeans. According to Christie's president Marc Porter, these figures can not be accurate and objective. In his view, the bidding reached the peak of the past involvement of the Russian collectors, while the Americans began to buy much less than a year ago.

Source: www.nytimes.com