In the face of China’s rise to third-largest art market (slipping in ahead of an aggrieved France), Clare McAndrew, head of the Dublin-based consulting firm, Arts Economics, is “ looking at resale rights in Europe. There are real
worries in Europe. New markets like China emerging is very good for the market overall but difficult for countries, like the U.K. and France, that have been hampered by regulations and taxes. They have to compete not only against the U.S., which has fewer regulations, but also against countries, like China, that don’t have resale royalties.” (Via ARTINFO)
She also says that, as art becomes viewed more and more as a long term investment, speculators have been “shaken out.”
Psst, H2TaA fans, look in future for that word, “Speculator” to become more prominent in articles that snipe at casual buyers. It’s a term that in past was used to describe buyers who were scrabbling to get hold of the latest future big sellers, taking a sort of gamble. But more and more the term will be used to speak of buyers who haven’t a clue. Watch it morph.
Watch, also, for a growing interest in purchases of old masters and antiquities, which have securely established values and are a staple of many serious collectors. A developing strategy to avoid looking to banks and the stock market for long-term security will bring more competition to sales of historically sound art with solid provenances.
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