THE last few months have seen a dramatic increase in the number of works from provincial museums being sold on the open market as a result of government cuts.
With cash-strapped local authorities in different parts of the country being forced to sell off their parts of their public collections, this has yielded a greater supply of institutional consignments which are being offered at auctions both inside and outside of London.
Bolton Council for instance is selling 36 works of art from its permanent collection housed in the town's museum. Sales have already included three large 19th century British pictures sold at recent Bonhams auctions.
Firstly, a picture of a woman sleep-walking from 1871 by Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896), entitled A Somnambulist, sold at their 19th century art sale in London on July 13 for a below-estimate £62,000. It was bought by Delaware Art Museum in the US who were keen to add to their Pre-Raphaelite art collection.
Making an even higher sum at Bonhams Edinburgh on August 31 was Robert Gemmell Hutchison's (1855-1936) Sea Gulls and Sapphire Seas. Again selling below its estimate (in this case a punchy £120,000-180,000), the 3ft 6in x 5ft 5in (1.06 x 1.66m) oil on canvas nevertheless made the second highest price ever seen for the artist when it was knocked down for £100,000.
It had originally been acquired by the council directly from Gemmell Hutchison in 1912 for £150.
Both of these works had been on permanent display.
Another work from the Bolton collection sold at the same Edinburgh sale – The Rivals by George Smith (1870-1934) which made a top-estimate £3000.
With its budget being cut by £60m over the next two years, the council said it had been forced to sell the works in order to fund a new storage facility required at the museum. Under Museums Association rules, such sales are only permitted in exceptional circumstances so money can be raised towards improving the facilities or remaining collection.
In all, the council is hoping to raise £500,000 and other artists whose works are being disposed of are primarily 19th century, such as Charles Napier Hemy (1841-1917) and William Powell Frith (1819-1909). Bolton want to keep hold of more modern works and those with local connections.
Meanwhile Leicestershire County Council has sold more than 300 works at auction since last November in the hope of raising £170,000.
Most of the works were more modern examples which had been used in schools, including three paintings by Paul Feiler (b.1918), which sold for a combined £40,000, and a picture by Indian artist Avinash Chandra (1931-1991) which realised £16,000.
Twelve lower-value works were offered at Bonhams in Knowle on Tuesday last week.
With the council aiming to cut £79m from its budget over the next four years, David Sprason, the county council's cabinet member for Adults and Communities, said: "Like the rest of the country, we are experiencing a tough economic climate at present and are continuing to investigate different ways in which we can save money.
"The council is only disposing of items of artwork that have been identified as surplus to requirements by schools. The money realised from these sales will go directly towards supporting Leicestershire's arts and heritage service."
2011年9月12日星期一
2011年8月25日星期四
Redesigned estate sales firm thriving
Hundreds of customers traipse through an immaculately clean condominium in Bloomfield Hills, carrying lamps, oil paintings for sale, cosmetics and sofas. Mark Blondy happily rings up another sale for the Commerce Township-based Americana Estate Sales Inc.
"It's like a high-grade circus: The tent goes up, the people come and make up stories about the occupants and walk out with its contents," said Blondy, 50. "They go home and you move the show to another location."
Americana Estate Sales expects to improve its sales this year to almost $100,000 or more after a lackluster 2010 provided a wake-up call to redesign his business that coordinates the sale of white elephants.
"I'll admit, 2010 was a bad year, but it took me out of complacency," said Blondy, who formed an estate business in 1996. He redoubled his efforts with the help of Patty Livernois, the ex-owner of Uppity Puppy, a Royal Oak dog boutique, who knew retailing and web design.
Together they built a following of 10,000 contacts. They also identified a moving company that would help their clients who purchased furniture too big to transport by car.
But nothing did more good for Blondy than taking courses in effective communication from Landmark Education in Livonia, he said.
"I thought it was my job to tell clients what they needed to do to sell their possessions, and it wasn't working. What I found was that listening to them mattered. Let them tell me more about the occupants of the house, what possessions were most sacred and how they wanted leftover items sold on consignment or donated," Blondy said. "Make sure you hear what they say and repeat it back so you don't override expectations."
Improving communications in person and online helps him get referral business among people in transition — death in a family, moving out of town or just downsizing. At the average house, it takes two weeks to organize, sort, price, display, market to customers, sell items and clean up.
Blondy coordinates two and sometimes three sales a week with seven part-time people, including two professional belly dancers. The average event lasts two days and brings $5,000 to $10,000 cash to the client. Americana takes an average of 25 to 35 percent.
Brian Crilley, the son of Shirley Crilley, owner of the Bloomfield Hills home where a recent sale occurred, said it wasn't easy to let go of the stuff he had grown up with and watch strangers march out with it.
Metro Detroit continues to be a national leader in estate sales, one expert said.
"Detroit is the second-largest market in the country behind Chicago for estate sales. You'll find an average of 25 to 30 sales per week," said Dan McQuade, co-owner of Vintage Software LLC, a Missouri company that powers EstateSales.net and makes money from companies that advertise their estate sales on his server.
"It's like a high-grade circus: The tent goes up, the people come and make up stories about the occupants and walk out with its contents," said Blondy, 50. "They go home and you move the show to another location."
Americana Estate Sales expects to improve its sales this year to almost $100,000 or more after a lackluster 2010 provided a wake-up call to redesign his business that coordinates the sale of white elephants.
"I'll admit, 2010 was a bad year, but it took me out of complacency," said Blondy, who formed an estate business in 1996. He redoubled his efforts with the help of Patty Livernois, the ex-owner of Uppity Puppy, a Royal Oak dog boutique, who knew retailing and web design.
Together they built a following of 10,000 contacts. They also identified a moving company that would help their clients who purchased furniture too big to transport by car.
But nothing did more good for Blondy than taking courses in effective communication from Landmark Education in Livonia, he said.
"I thought it was my job to tell clients what they needed to do to sell their possessions, and it wasn't working. What I found was that listening to them mattered. Let them tell me more about the occupants of the house, what possessions were most sacred and how they wanted leftover items sold on consignment or donated," Blondy said. "Make sure you hear what they say and repeat it back so you don't override expectations."
Improving communications in person and online helps him get referral business among people in transition — death in a family, moving out of town or just downsizing. At the average house, it takes two weeks to organize, sort, price, display, market to customers, sell items and clean up.
Blondy coordinates two and sometimes three sales a week with seven part-time people, including two professional belly dancers. The average event lasts two days and brings $5,000 to $10,000 cash to the client. Americana takes an average of 25 to 35 percent.
Brian Crilley, the son of Shirley Crilley, owner of the Bloomfield Hills home where a recent sale occurred, said it wasn't easy to let go of the stuff he had grown up with and watch strangers march out with it.
Metro Detroit continues to be a national leader in estate sales, one expert said.
"Detroit is the second-largest market in the country behind Chicago for estate sales. You'll find an average of 25 to 30 sales per week," said Dan McQuade, co-owner of Vintage Software LLC, a Missouri company that powers EstateSales.net and makes money from companies that advertise their estate sales on his server.
订阅：
博文 (Atom)