Between-Sale Ruminations on the Art Market and the Stock Market

Whatever you may feel about the impressive success of Sotheby's contemporary sale last night, the stock market seems to be nonplussed. Sotheby's publicly traded shares have continued the fall that began on May 8, which was the day of its big Impressionist/modern sale and the day after its announcement of solid first-quarter results.

As of 11:10 a.m., the stock was at $44.97, down from its closing price of $52.40 on May 8.

I can only think that (CEO William Ruprecht's comments about quality-over-quantity notwithstanding) when it comes to investors' mindsets, market share still counts. Although it's unlikely to top Sotheby's top price last night---$72.84 million for David Rockefeller's Rothko---Christie's does stand a good chance of making Sotheby's $254.87-million sale total (including buyer's premium) a very fleeting record for a contemporary art sale. The estimated hammer total for tonight's sale is $225-305 million, to which the buyer's premium will be added.

The focus will be on Warhol, whose "Green Car Crash" is estimated at $25-35 million. I had to laugh when I read art consultant Sandy Heller's comments to ABC News about that work. ABC reports:

Sandy Heller, who advises collectors on purchases, said that while it "is a great piece," it is also "a very tough image" that some might find hard to live with.

"It's hard to put an image of impaled figure in a burning car in a home where you have little kids," Heller said.

Isn't he the one who advises hedge fund mogul Steven Cohen, whose decomposing Hirst shark is again discussed in today's Wall Street Journal?

We can only wonder whether Heller may have the best interests of one of his Warhol-loving clients at heart. As I wrote many years ago in my book, "The Complete Guide to Collecting Art":

The most disparaging presale remarks about a work sometimes come from the person who winds up purchasing it. When dealer Richard Feigen was commissioned by a collector to buy an Impressionist painting that Feigen considered "an exceptional work of art," he actively tried to discourage other people. "I did not extol the painting when people asked my opinion and I tried to put people off it, if they were people to whom I did not have a fiduciary responsibility....

I got the painting for about 60 percent of what the client was prepared to pay. He was ecstatic."