With the impressionist and modern sales occurring in New York as we speak, I would wager that it is more than just Christie’s and Sotheby’s whose breath is baited pending the outcome. No question, the Henri Matisse ‘Bouquet de fleurs…’ at Sotheby’s has the potential to be a record-breaker, but no one’s fortunes in the art and antiques world are made from the sale of one stellar item. Even so, trade sources are touting the possibility of the gaggle of sales in both rooms making in the $1billion range, and that should make even the most cash-strapped a bit more flush. Mind you, rents on the upper east side of Manhattan can rather quickly flatten even the fattest wallet.
My purpose in mentioning the spring impressionist sales is not, however, to comment on the fortunes of the major salerooms. It is that, for the art world, high profile sales are our equivalent of TARP money, with some huge dollars spent in any venue signaling to the larger art and antiques market that the bear is morphing into a bull. In the financial markets, Keynes referred to a change in perception as animal instincts, and while it would surprise me, albeit pleasantly, if the New York impressionist sales instigated a stampede of buyers, they might provide just the slightest nudge in the posterior of the too many still-hesitant punters. And we know you are out there…