There is more money in the world than great paintings by John Jan Popovic

Top prices
Top prices
Until 1970 Old Masters dominated the higher echelons of the market. In 1965 Rembrandt’s Portrait of Titus set a new world record of £789,000 after the already-discussed bidding débâcle with Norton Simon.

China overtook the U.S. as the world’s biggest auction market for fine art in 2010, according to research company Artprice. Still, payment issues may hobble its growth. London auction house Bainbridges is awaiting payment on a Qianlong-era vase that was bid to a record $83.2 million in November. Sellers at international auctions are insisting on deposit protection. Sotheby’s eight-day Hong Kong April sales ended today with $450 million sales, as mainland buyers paid top prices for the rarest items.

In 1970 Juan de Pareja by Velazquez, set a new world record of £2.3 m ($5.5m). Since then the highest prices have belonged to Impressionist paintings. This was partly due to fashion and partly due to a scarcity of really good old masters. Although a large number of the best paintings are sold privately, it is easier to use auction statistics which are available from a variety of sources for making price comparisons. The list of the top thirty prices ever achieved for paintings at auctions looks like:

Artist..........Title..........Auction House..........Location......Date........Record Price
1 GOGH, Vincent van (1853-1890) Dutch Portrait du Dr. Gachet Christies New York May 15th 1990 $75,000,000 /£44,378,696
2 RENOIR, Pierre Auguste (1841-1919) French Au Moulin de la Galette Sotheby’s New York May 17th 1990 $71,000,000 / £42,011,832
3 PICASSO, Pablo (1881-1973) Spanish Les noces de Pierrette Binoche et Godeau Paris 30-Nov-89 $51,671,920 / £33,123,028
4 PONTORMO, Jacopo (1493-1558) Italian Portrait of Duke Cosimo I de Medici Christie’s New York 31-May-89 $32,000,000 / £20,253,164
5 CEZANNE, Paul (1839-1906) French Nature morte - les grosses pommes Sotheby’s New York 11-May 93 $26,000,000 / £16,993,464
6 MANET, Edouard (1832-1883) French La rue Mosnier aux drapeaux Sotheby’s New York 14-Nov-89 $24,000,000 / £5,483,872
7 GAUGUIN, Paul (1848-1903) French Mata Mua, in olden times Sotheby’s New York 9-May-89 $22,000,000 / £13,496,934
8 MONET, Claude (1840-1926) French Dans la prairie Sotheby’s New York 28-Jun-88 $21,840,000 / £13,000,000
9 CONSTABLE, John (1776-1837) British The lock Sotheby’s London 14-Nov-90 $19,306,000 £9,800,000
10 KANDINSKY, Wassily (1866-1944) Russian Fugue Sotheby’s New York 17-May-90 $19,000,000 £11,242,604
11 KOONING, Willem de (1904-1997) American/Dutch. Interchange Sotheby’s New York 8-Nov-89 $18,800,000 £11,898,735
12 CANALETTO, (1697-1768) Italian The Old Horse Guard, London, from St James’s Park Christie’s London 15-Apr-92 $16,008,000 / £9,200,000
13 JOHNS, Jasper (1930-) American. False start Sotheby’s New York 10-Nov-88 $15,500,000 £8,611,112
14 GUARDI, Francesco (1712-1793) Italian Vue de la Giudecca et du Zattere a Venise Sotheby’s Monaco 1-Dec-89 $13,943,218 / £ 8,937,960 / (F.Fr850,000,000)
15 CHAGALL, Marc (1887-1985) French/Russian Anniversaire Sotheby’s New York 17-May-90 $13,500,000 £7,988,166
16 LEGER, Fernand (1881-1955) French Contrastes de formed Christie’s London 27-Nov-89 $13,260,000 £8,500,000
17 MATISSE, Henri (1869-1954) French Harmonie jaune Christie’s New York 11-Nov-92 $13,200,000 £8,741,723
18 TITIAN, (c. 1488-1576) Italian Venus and Adonis, Christie’s London 13-Dec-91 $12,376,000 £6,800,000
19 TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, Henri de (1864-1901) French Fille a la fourrure, Mademoiselle Jeanne Fontaine Christie’s New York 15-May-90 $11,800,000 £6,982,249
20 DEGAS, Edgar (1834-1917) French. Les Blanchisseuses, Les Repasseuses Christie’s London 30-Nov-87 $11,696,000 £6,800,000
21 MODIGLIANI, Amadeo (1884-1920) Italian. Nu assis au collier Christie’s New York 10-May-95 $11,300,000 £7,197,452
22 VLAMINCK, Maurice de (1876-1958) French. Les pecheurs a Nanterre Guy Loudner Paris 25-Mar-90 $10,721,805 £6,659,506 / (F Fr62,000,000)
23 KLIMT, Gustav (1862-1918) Austrian. Dame mit Facher Sotheby’s New York 11-May-94 $10,600,000 £7,066,667
24 POLLOCK, Jackson (1912-1956) American. Number 8, 1950 Sotheby’s New York 2-May-89 $10,500,000 £6,325,302
25 SARGENT, John Singer (1856-1925) British/American. Cashmere Sotheby’s New York 5-Dec-96 $10,100,000 £6,158,537
26 REMBRANDT (1606-1669) Dutch. Portrait of a girl, wearing a gold-trimmed cloak Sotheby’s London 10-Dec-86 $9,372,000 £6,600,000
27 TURNER, Joseph Mallord William (1775-1851) British. Seascape, Folkestone Sotheby’s London 5-Jul-84 $9,045,000 £6,700,000
28 DERAIN, André (1880-1954) French. Bateaux dans le Port, Collioure Christie’s London 26-Jun-89 $8,792,000 £5,600,000
29 MONDRIAN, Piet (1872-1944) Dutch. Facade in tan and grey Sotheby’s New York 15-Nov-89 $8,750,000 £5,645,162
30 BRAQUE, Georges (1882-1963) French Femme lisant Sotheby’s London 2-Dec-86 $8,640,000 £6,000,000

It can be seen that only seven old masters feature in the top thirty paintings (Pontormo, Constable, Canaletto, Guardi, Titian, Rembrandt, Turner). This is really a question of availability. Demand has chased the Old Masters since they were painted, whereas the Impressionists did not come of age until the 1970s. The top ten of all time contains six either Impressionist or Post Impressionist and the three most important Post Impressionists, Gauguin, Cezanne and Van Gogh are represented in the top ten. However the Impressionists and Post Impressionists are now suffering from the same problems of supply as the Old Masters. As the works by the great masters of any era dry up as they are drawn into museums or impregnable private collections, the market chases the works of the more minor masters.

Top twenty Old Master prices at auction

1 PONTORMO, Jacopo (1493-1558), Italian. $32,000,000 £20,253,164 Portrait of Duke Cosimo I de Medici, 31-May-89, Christie’s, New York.
2 CONSTABLE, John (1776-1837) British. $19,306,000 £9,800,000 The lock, 14-Nov-90, Sotheby’s, London.
3 CANALETTO (1697-1768) Italian. $16,008,000 £9,200,000 The Old Horse Guards, London, from St James’s Park, 15-Apr-92, Christie’s, London.
4 GUARDI, Francesco (1712-1793) Italian. $13,943,218 £8,937,960 Vue de la Giudecca et du Zattere a Venise, 1-Dec-89, Sotheby's, Monaco (F.Fr850,000,000).
5 TITIAN, (c. 1488-1576) Italian. $12,376,000 £6,800,000 Venus and Adonis, 13-Dec-91, Christie’s, London.
6 REMBRANDT (1606-1669) Dutch. $9,372,000 £6,600,000 Portrait of a girl, wearing a gold-trimmed cloak, 10-Dec-86, Sotheby’s, London.
7 TURNER, Joseph Mallord William (1775-1851) British. $9,045,000 £6,700,000 Seascape, Folkestone, 5-Jul-84, Sotheby’s, London.
8 BELLOTTO, Bernardo (1720-1780) Italian. $5,642,000 £3,100,000 Fortress of Konigstein, 11-Dec-91, Sotheby’s, London.
9 VELAZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y (1599-1660) Spanish. $5,524,000 £2,310,000 Portrait of Juan de Pareja, 27-Nov-70, Christie’s, London.
10 CRANACH, Lucas (elder) (1472-1553) German. $7,920,000 £4,400,000 Portraits of Kurfurst Johann von Sachsen and son Johann Friedrich, 6-Jul-90, Christie’s, London.
11 RAPHAEL, 16th C. (1483-1520) Italian. $7,920,000 £4,800,000 Study for head and hand of an Apostle (drawing), 13-Dec-96, Christie’s, London.
12 GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco José de (1746-1828) Spanish. $7,020,000 £4,500,000 Bullfight - Suerte de varas, 15-Jan-88, Sotheby’s, London.
13 HEEM, Jan Davidsz de (1606-1684) Dutch. $6,000,000 £3,389,830 Banquet still life, 15-Jan-88, Christie’s, New York.
14 CUYP, Albert (1620-1691) Dutch. $5,852,000 £3,800,000 Orpheus charming the animals, 6-Jul-94, Sotheby’s, London.
15 AGASSE, Jacques Laurent (1767-1849) Swiss. $5,810,000 £3,500,000 Two leopards playing in the Exeter Change Menagerie in 1808 15-Jul-88, Christie’s, London.
16 GERRICAULT, Théodore (1791-1824) French. $5,249,210 £3,364,879 Portrait de Laure Bro, nee de Comeres, 3-Dec-89, Sotheby’s. Monaco (F Fr32,000,000).
17 DELACROIX, Eugène (1789-1863) French. $5,000,000 £3,225,807 Les Natchez, 14-Nov-89, Christie’s, New York.
18 RUBENS, Sir Peter Paul (1577-1640) Flemish. $4,740,000 £3,000,000 Forest at dawn with deer hunt, 8-Dec-89, Christie’s, London.
19 STUBBS, George (1724-1806) British. $4,611,000 £2,900,000 Portrait of the royal tiger, 8-Jun-95, Christie’s, London.
20 RIBERA, Jusepe de (1588-1656) Spanish. $4,500,000 £2,500,000 The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, 4-Jul-90, Sotheby’s, London.

The list of the top twenty Old Master prices shows a wide range of artists from the Renaissance (Pontormo, Titian, Cranach, Raphael) to the Baroque (Rembrandt, Velazquez, Cuyp, Rubens, de Heem, Ribera) to the Eighteenth century vedute painters (Canaletto, Guardi, Bellotto), to the general Eighteenth century (Stubbs) and finally to the cusp Eighteenth/Nineteenth century (Constable, Turner, Goya, Agasse, Géricault, Delacroix). Thus, high prices can be attached to a master from any period if the marketplace holds him in high enough esteem at the time of sale.

At this level there are only a few buyers, some private individuals and a couple of museums. In each age there is one powerful buyer who dominates the market. At various times in the past this has been; Catherine the Great of Russia, Charles I of England, the Medici, the Rothschilds and so on. At the time of writing it is the Getty Museum who reportedly have to spend four per cent per annum of their alleged $5,000,000,000 endowment to retain their charitable status. Interestingly, along with several of the largest buyers, they often prefer to buy privately and they only account for three or four out of the top twenty auction prices. Like all museums, it is much easier for them to buy privately, when they do not have to rush trustee meetings and they can conduct a slow and tough negotiation with a dealer.

The few private individuals who buy at this level have normally spent years working their way up to this point gradually buying better and better paintings. Good old masters start at around £50,000. Below this it is possible to buy good paintings but it needs luck, application and advice. Above £50,000 the sky is the limit depending on the rarity, popularity and which school the collector is interested. Plenty of people have enough money to compete but few have either the knowledge, nerve or confidence to buy the rare and outstanding paintings that dominate the higher echelons of the market. The main leading private collectors for Old Masters are American, Swiss (who have always understood the value of art), and a few other Europeans. The Japanese have problems with the religious inspiration behind a large part of the canon and the English buyers at this level can be counted with one hand. In the Eighteenth century the newly rich English went on the greatest art buying spree the world has ever seen. That is why there are some 27,000 old master and nineteenth century foreign paintings in English museums, and numerous more in the extensive private holdings in the great country houses (Burghley has over 400 and Chatsworth has several hundred).
Since the Eighteenth century the British have gradually lost their confidence as their Empire dissolved, their currency collapsed, their sportsmen stopped winning and they lost their appetite for the work of the great masters.
It clearly follows, that as the price reduces more potential buyers enter the fray, as more people potentially can afford to buy should they so wish. The more the collector is contemplating spending, the more he should protect himself as well as possible by seeking the best advice he can obtain.
Price trends

Around 15,000 Old Master lots are currently coming up for auction annually. This equals the 1989 level which then dropped off to about 12,000 at the depth of the recession in 1993. Turnover peaked in 1989 at £ (pounds) 280,000,000 and has since levelled off at £200,000,000 having bottomed in 1993 at £140,000,000. So, it can be seen that the market has recovered the amount of lots being sold but has only recovered two thirds of its turnover. This only really affects the buyer of middle ranged goods which have not yet recovered the euphoric heights of the late 1980s. The market is currently selective and for excellent paintings is even stronger than it was in 1989.

The strongest areas today are the Eighteenth century Venetian ‘vedute’ or view painters such as Canaletto, Guardi, Marieschi, Carlevarijs and Bellotto, and the Dutch and Flemish painters of the Seventeenth century such as Rembrandt, De Hooch, Hobbema, Salomon van Ruisdael, Jan Steen, Adrian van Ostade, Pieter Breughel the Younger and Jan van Huysum.
These areas are perfect for the non-religious easy viewing taste of today. Everybody has a happy memory of times spent in Venice whether with a spouse, lover or just wondering around in awe at the loveliness of it all. The vedute painters are technically excellent, often come onto the market, are visually very attractive and appeal to most nationalities.
The Dutch School is attractive to today’s buyers for similar reasons described above for the vedute painters. In addition, because they were painted for the town houses of the Dutch merchants, they are small in size which is helpful when fitting them in to today’s smaller houses.
A school that is out of fashion is the English Eighteenth century (Reynolds, Gainsborough, Hoppner, Romney, etc). These paintings made enormous prices when pushed by Duveen, the leading dealer at the beginning of the century. They have never recovered anywhere near those heights. However, an attractive female portrait by Gainsborough would be competed for and there are artists overlooked by Duveen who have become sought after today such as; Johann Zoffany (Group portrait of Lord Willoughby de Brooke, £2.8m or $4.3m, in 1989), Joseph Wright of Derby (Mr and Mrs Coltman, £1.3m or $1.6m, in 1984) and George Stubbs (Royal tiger £2.9m or $4.6m, in 1995).
Thus the buyer faces a choice with regard to fashion. It is much easier as well as more expensive for the buyer to hunt with the pack and chase the fashionable artists. Changes in fashion in the art world happen over decades as opposed to years, so it is more straight forward both to buy and sell into the current fashion. However, the buyer can also buy very inexpensively against the trend with impressive results.
A good example of an outstanding collection acquired against the trend is that of Sir Denis Mahon’s collection of seventeenth-and eighteenth-century Italian paintings collected in the 1930s until the early 1970s. It includes masterpieces by Guercino, Guido Reni, Domenichino, Annibale Carracci, Luca Giordano, Pietra de Cortona, Pellegrini and Crespi.
During the period this collection was being constructed such works were out of fashion and could be obtained for relatively small sums. Sir Denis reputedly never spent more than £5,000 on a painting and bought most of them for considerably less.
Collectors should certainly buy paintings with which they enjoy living. A popular saying is I don't know about art, but I know what I like. This is all very well but it is not enough for the collector who has to explore the issue of an acquisition considerably more carefully than merely buying what he likes. Regarding price, therefore, the matter of a trend is important because the collector may be buying a painting that is a part of a trend that is appreciating, depreciating or merely level pegging and he should be aware of this.
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Bibliography & links
The Economist, A Survey of the World Art Market, by Merril Stevenson, December 22, 1990
http://www.oldmasters.net/essay-5.html
http://www.slate.com/id/2144185/