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Art market news in brief — August 2010

Gagosian shows his personal art collection in Abu Dhabi, Hirst and Dunphy part company, Bank of Ireland to sell its collection, and more

By The Art Newspaper. Web only
Published online: 25 August 2010

The dealer as collector: Gagosian shows his personal art collection in Abu Dhabi

Mega-dealer Larry Gagosian is putting his personal collection on display in Abu Dhabi next month. Entitled “RSTW” (Rauschenberg, Ruscha, Serra, Twombly, Warhol, & Wool) and curated by Anne Baldassari, curator and chairwoman of the National Picasso Museum in Paris, the exhibition explores not only American postwar art, but also the “collector behind the art dealer”, according to Tourism Development & Investment Company, the organiser of the show. “This ‘contemporary collection’ parallels the idea of Abu Dhabi as a place of accelerated progress, raising debates about the definition of contemporary in a space which is always in the process of becoming new.” The exhibition will be held at Manarat Al Saadiyat, an exhibition centre located in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District—the district that will house the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi when they are completed. The show opens 22 September. K.A.

Hirst and Dunphy part company

Frank Dunphy, who many credit as the man behind Damien Hirst’s empire building, is stepping down. Dunphy, who was responsible for some of the artist’s most ambitious projects including the now-infamous 2008 Sotheby’s auction, “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever”, will remain on board as a consultant until his retirement at the end of the year. He will be succeeded by a new business manager, James Kelly, who joins Hirst Holdings after more than 20 years as a senior partner at international accountancy and tax advisory firm, Rawlinson & Hunter. C.B.

Bank of Ireland to sell its collection

The Bank of Ireland is to sell its art collection, estimated at over €4m ($4.9m), in phases over the next five years. The bank began collecting Irish art in the 1970s and has a collection of approximately 2,000 works by artists such as James Coleman, F.E. McWilliam, and Patrick Scott. Some of the top works from the collection, including pieces by Jack B. Yeats and Camille Souter, have already been donated to the Irish Museum of Modern Art. “We now feel the collection needs to be put to work in a more tangible fashion,” said chief executive Richie Boucher, who said that proceeds from the sales would be given to the bank’s charitable investment programs. In response, a number of Irish artists have called on the Minister for Finance to stop the proposed sale. K.A.

Fame fund to promote French contemporary art abroad



A group of 11 French art professionals have joined forces to set up an endowment fund to make French contemporary art better known abroad. Fame (Fonds Arts Marché Economie—Funds Arts Market Economy) aims to promote the initiatives of French artists internationally and contribute to making the French art market more dynamic. Its members include the art consultant Fabien Bouglé, the dealer Hervé Loevenbruck, the Chic Dessin fair organiser Cécile Griesmar and Frédéric Elkaïm, the director of Drouot’s training institute. Among its other members are a freelance curator, a lawyer, a journalist/art historian and an auctioneer. Fame intends to take advantage of the 2003 “mécénat” patronage law and the 2008 endowments fund law that enables collectors and companies to benefit from tax breaks through the creation of endowment funds. A.S.

Two new fairs planned for South Korea

Plans have been announced for two new fairs in South Korea. They will join the existing, dealer-run Kiaf international art fair (9-13 September). Former Kiaf director Jonghyo Cheong has left the fair to head one of the new ventures, Art Seoul, which will open in September 2011. The other new fair is Art Gwangju, which is being led by the chief executive of the Gwangju Biennale (3 September-7 November), Yongwoo Lee, who plans to open it on 1 September this year. Participating galleries include London’s Lisson Gallery and Stockholm’s Niklas Belenius. C.B.

Australian forgeries to be destroyed

A Victoria Supreme Court judge has ruled that three drawings purported to be by the celebrated Australian artists Charles Blackman and Robert Dickerson are fakes and must be destroyed. Justice Peter Vickery said that the works bore false signatures and “were deliberately contrived to deceive unsuspecting members of the public”. Dickerson said he “felt sick” when he saw the work which he said contained errors relating to proportion and materials. Melbourne art dealer Peter Gant had supplied the works between 1999 and 2005, although the court found that he had not been aware that the works were forgeries in its ruling last month. E.F

Western art slows in Reno

On July 24 the annual Coeur d’Alene Western Art bonanza in Reno, Nevada, totalled $9.2m. This was the second drop in turnover following the record high of $37m in 2008 ($11.7m in 2009). Auctioneer Mike Overby, who described his clients as predominantly American with “lots of oil money, hedge fund directors and old eastern families”, said it was difficult to secure high-end consignments. “Most of the collectors that own $1m-plus paintings don't need the money right now so they're hesitant to sell”. He added that collectors at the top end of the market were still there but that there was a drain at the lower end. The top lot was Eanger Irving Couse’s (1866-1936) Kachina Painter, 1917, which made $753,000 (est $800,000-$1.2m)—the second highest price after The Harvest Song, around 1920, which sold for $937,000 at Christie’s, New York, in May 2008. A new world record was set for Edgar S. Paxson (1852-1919) when Joseph-Nez Perce, 1899, went for $163,800 (est $80,000-120,000), topping the Coeur d’Alene 2002 high of $137,500 for Custer’s Last Buffalo Hunt.

Melbourne Art Fair’s modest takings

This year has been a tough one for Australian art dealers, and many wondered whether there was anything to gained from participating in the 12th Melbourne Art Fair (4-8 August). But, for the 80 galleries that did take part the results were better than expected, with most dealers registering a modest profit. The total value of sales was given as A$11m, which shows how small-scale the Melbourne Art Fair is in comparison with its international counterparts. This year there were only eight overseas participants, including four from New Zealand. Many dealers took advantage of the extra space to hold one-person shows. A common tactic was to concentrate on small, low-cost works, with the sales of such pieces giving the impression of constant activity. A lively program of talks and subsidiary exhibitions helped make the week a success, keeping everyone’s minds off the bottom line. J.Mc.

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