Michael Jackson Portrait by Andy Warhol

On May 13 of this year an Andy Warhol portrait of Michael Jackson went up for auction at Sotheby's for $278,500. Almost two months later, including the unfortunate death of Michael Jackson, the current owner of this portrait will most likely make a HUGE profit- If taken the right measures. Except my opinion, as a consultant, is that they're taking the wrong steps for the painting in the method of auctioning/selling this precious consignment.

First of all the current owner of the portrait is an unidentified New York collector (this is not a problem, it'll simply add mystery to the current owner and might actually act in favor of the portrait.) However, it will be auctioned off through a silent auction at an art gallery in the Hamptons at the Vered Gallery. Yes, it might bring more publicity and benefit this venue in the long run, but not many people will know about this gallery's existance to begin with, and frankly if not all interested parties are contacted to let them know about the existence of an Andy Warhol Michael Jackson portrait, then there won't be many bidders participating.

The next mistake is that there isn't enough time for advertising and publicizing this important event. Michael Jackson memorabilia is more popular than ever now and can make huge profits, except his death came abruptly, so the fever to own Michael Jackson items is stronger than ever. However you still have to advertise well, otherwise poeple in the international art scene will be left in the dark. Michael Jackson is an international phenomenon, he's a pop idol like no other, and to auction off his portrait well, EVERYONE needs to know about it, and frankly Sotheby's and Christie's know how to do this best- so why were they not contacted?

My third point is the silent auction. These are good for keeping business covert. Michael Jackson is mostly everyone's obsession, why keep it to phone bids or internet bids? This seems nonsensical, I would want to see an actual physical auction fight to drive the value and price of this portrait up, and that would surely happen in the appropriate atmosphere. It's actually quite ridiculous it's being done through a silent auction with days of bidding (from July 3rd to July 12). This leaves too much time for people to think whether it's rational for them to bid or not. A lot of impulse decisions go on at an auction, you want to take advantage of this within a few minutes, not a few days.

By keeping it so anonymous, there's going to be a lot of confusion as to who gets the legitimate final bid, because I know when you put the king of pop and the king of pop art together, it's going to be an explosion of desire within art collectors. This piece is incredibly valuable, and will be for the future as well. Whoever, wins it at this silent Hamptons auction will most likely get huge profits once it's put on the auction market for real. I can feel Christie's and Sotheby's already looking at this event in amazement- if they are going to be smart about this one, they would in fact try to be the highest bidder at this silent auction.

The minimum bid is $800,000 for the Michael Jackson portrait. It's also going to close at the last day of the Art Hamptons International Art fair which is another problem in my book. Who has ever heard of the ArtHamptons Art Fair? Who goes to this fair? I mean if it's going to host such a fantastic piece, their website should at least look a little more exciting. Or maybe by having this Michael Jackson portrait, it will bring more attention to the fair itself since it is competing for a larger public and hasn't given up in the weak economy.

I guess it's good that a portion of the proceeds will go to supporting Shderot, a town in Israel that got bombed for eight years by the Palestinians. Then again this is bringing politics, a complicated and delicate politics not necessarily directly affiliated with Andy Warhol and Michael Jackson. As noble and great it always is when proceeds are given to charities, this one may drag more complications and deter bidders- again not the best move for the auctioning of this painting.

It's sad so much value has been injected into this portrait due to the death of the celebrity, but the demand is definitely there, this is a historic event and people want to remember him in many ways not just through his dancing and music. What will be the outcome?

My advice for the mysterious NYC collector owning this portrait is be the highest bidder and give it a proper auction, because someone else will just like Michael Jackson is getting a proper funeral.

The Art Patrons of Our Day

History loves to repeat itself and so "Today's billionaires are no different from the grand dukes and popes of the Renaissance or the merchants of 17th century Amsterdam. They buy art to appreciate it, to learn from it and to profit from it" as is stated by Forbes' article Top Billionaire Art Collectors

The advantage of having billionaires obsessed with collecting art is that at the end of their hunt, it usually will amount to a collection for a new museum or public space everyone can enjoy. Who are these art lovers of the world with Rembrandts hanging in their homes or 12 million dollar sharks?

S.I. Newhouse (publisher, Conde Nast)


Steven A. Cohen (hedge fund)



Charles Saatchi (advertising)




Ronald Lauder (Estee Lauder heir)



Eli Broad (house building and insurance)



Francois Pinault (retail and luxury goods)

It continues "the individuals on whom we focus are those who collect with consistency, boundless appetites and the necessary billions to satisfy them. Fact: We have been living through an astounding boom--one that far surpasses its predecessor of the later 1980s. As with the 80s, much of the market is being made by the New Money" which is why the list focuses on just these few the ones with billions and are really in for the art.

Although this is from 2005 and there are probably newcomers today, this gives a good idea of the kind of billionaire art lover the art world raves after.

Versailles and Jeff Koons, What's Next?

I was checking my daily articles on my account at MutualArt.com when I came across an article on Jeff Koons and his Lobster that was showcased in the Chateau de Versailles Jeff Koons exhibit outside of Paris. I remembered all the outrage, curiosity, and talk this show instigated last year. If buzz can be created, it means it is bound to happen again and that is exactly what people have in mind.

Jeff Koons' Versailles show has opened up a whole new way of exhibiting art works and commenting on the ways of the old. The irony at hand I guess is that one of the symbols of brand name art, the status of our day, what is exciting and popular and exhuberant somehow doesn't fit in with its equivalent of the 17th century during the time of the Sun King (le roi soleil.) I guess it didn't fit in with the living room?

The French artist Xavier Veilhan will be the focus of the next exhibition at the chateau de Versailles where the first piece has been described as "A dynamic sculpture depicting a team of bright purple cube-like horses pulling a carriage" as on cbcNews. Maybe because the artist is French there will be less rioting this time around- and maybe less visitors. Who knows but we'll find out in September.

Useful Art Blog

As an art consultant it's good to get tips from other art consultants as well and see how they think and what issues strike their interest in the vast art world.
LPDM Fine Art Consulting has a great blog with articles ranging from recommended books to read, how to buy/sell your art, general reviews on art fairs, art auctions, recent controversies, explaining art law, and other relevant terms.
It is just a good informational tool.

Here's the link to the blog
Take a look if you get the chance!

Art Investment Firms

This post is meant to bring some clarity into the art investment firm business. What is it exactly?
When investing in a portfolio, it's important to have a certain amount of diversity, you know, in case things don't work out with one of your investments so you haven't put all your eggs in one basket. Investing in art serves that purpose when diversifying your portfolio of investment, it provides another alternative for returns on assets. It seems like those investors from Wall Street want something new, high risk, high status, exciting, and hopefully beautiful- if they ever get to see the art they invest in.

The New Yorker wrote an article on the subject, which explains it well . Click here for full article.

"In 1904, André Level, a French financier, persuaded twelve other investors to contribute two hundred and twelve francs apiece to a new investment fund called La Peau de l’Ours (“the skin of the bear”), which was targeted at an unusual market: modern art. Over the next ten years, the fund bought more than a hundred paintings and drawings, including major works by Picasso and Matisse, before selling off its entire collection in a giant auction, at the Hôtel Drouot, in Paris, on March 2, 1914. The sale was more lucrative than even Level could have hoped: some paintings went for ten times the original price. When it was over, the partners found that they had quadrupled their initial investments."

A trick to making something valuable, is keeping it scarce, unique, and one of a kind. This type of investment brought high returns, however, can this still be the case with so many of these firms popping up in recent years?

Here's some of the names coming to mind:
Fine Art Wealth Management (UK)
Aurora Fine Art Investment Fund (Moscow, NYC)
Fine Art Fund (UK)
The Artist Pension Trust (Global)
The Art Trading Fund (UK)

Creating a Unique Art Collection

Sometimes people wonder what makes for a good art collection and what's the importance of art collecting? The easy answer is probably what makes the collector happy, what they like. However, most times this is a very ambiguous desire- most people don't really know what they want or like.

I came across an article with some insightful advice on www.artbusiness.com where "Step one is being true to your tastes. This means acknowledging that you like certain types of art regardless of what you think you're supposed to like or what seems to be the current rage. All great collectors share this trait-- that's one thing makes their collections stand out."

Collect what you like, this much is true at anytime, but what people also seeks is something of value, meaning something valuable to the eyes of others, something that is desired by many people, but only you possess it- that's a powerful collection.

Another insight is be open and look everywhere "Don't confine yourself to the same museums or galleries or wherever else you've been looking at art. Get out there and see what else is going on." This is important for diversity in the collection and avoiding a collection that looks like the next one.

A novice collector will buy what he likes because that's the initial first step. However, for the collection to mature it has to make sense and create links with the other items in the same collection so the collector will say "Not only do I love this sculpture, but it's also a prime example of the artist's best subject matter dating from his most productive time period and it fills a major gap in my collection." The collection is complete once all the pieces of the puzzle are fit together, the art consultant can then help to find these missing links and pieces.

Another interesting point is documenting your art pieces. Take the time to record the title, ownership history, artist statements, any associated stories, pricing etc. because once the collection has grown large enough you may forget some of the small details that made an artwork so fitting when you made the initial discovery.

To view the full art collecting posting see here.

Art Basel Prospects

As Sam Keller, the Director of Art Basel, resigns from his position, he leaves us with this advice:

"Change continuously with the art world,'' Keller, 41, said in a telephone interview from the Swiss city. "Listen to the galleries who have what it takes to make an art fair.''"

(From Bloomberg: read full article)

So what do these galleries have to say? As an art consultant, Art Basel is one of the major events for the primary art market. For galleries, it is highly recommended to invest art fairs since the exposure presents so many opportunities. Everyone is going to be there from the USA, to Europeans, to the Middle East, and Asia. The same advice goes to art consultants, clients will want to know what's up, especially at Basel, and especially because UBS (the main sponsor of the event) decided to close its art advising department. A sad moment, but it means we have to reassure clients of our necessity even more. It seems like changes are happening with a vengeance, I'll be curious to know what insight will come from Art Basel- I certainly am excited!