Skate's Art Investment Review

Welcome to Skate’s Annual Art Investment Report for 2012! This year, our report will be published in three parts. Part 1 focuses on Skate’s Top 5000 ranking of the world’s most valuable works of art by public auction price. We examine the changes that took place in this premium segment by addressing market performance in comparison with 2011, specifically with regard to artist rankings, sales volume and value, repeat sales (i.e., investment performance), and general changes in the structure the ranking.

Part 2, which will be published in early January, addresses the global art industry. Analysis is focused on companies in the art industry (e.g., auction houses, dealerships, e-commerce platforms, and media businesses), art investment funds, art financial services, and publicly traded art industry companies (i.e., the companies comprising Skate’s Art Stocks Index). It also covers many of the challenges faced by art industry companies.

Click here to download Part 1

This issue of Skate’s Art Investment Review focuses on the most important auction results in October, as well as major upcoming sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

In this Issue:

• October Sales Results: Entrants to Skate’s Top 5000
• Andy Warhol Market Phenomenon
• Celebrity Portraits by Andy Warhol: Men, Women and Himself
• Top 3 Art Investment Ideas for November 2012
  • Marlon by Andy Warhol   
  • Flowers by Andy Warhol
  • Hammer and sickle by Andy Warhol
• Investment Benchmarks of the Warhol Market

To read the full report, please click here.

This issue of Skate’s Art Investment Review focuses on the most important auction results in June, as well as major upcoming sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

In this Issue:

• New Entries to Skate’s Top 5000 in June
• Old Masters Market: Significant Downturn in Demand Signifies Low Investment Potential
• Top 3 Art Investment Ideas for July 2012

• Willem van de Velde The Younger: A Calm – A smalschip and a kaag at anchor with an English man-o’-war beyond
• Willem van de Velde The Younger: The Surrender of the Royal Prince During The Four Days’ Battle, 1st – 4th June 1666
• Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A.: Mont Blanc from Fort Roch, Val d’Aosta

To read the full report, please click here.

Since the official announcement that Edvard Munch’s pastel painting The Scream would be presented for auction at Sotheby’s, it is difficult to imagine a time when there have been more expert predictions, social discussions and media coverage dedicated to a single work of art. The Scream obviously generated a great deal of interest on the part of top buyers from around the globe, as the Sotheby’s sale saw approximately seven collectors competing for ownership. As a result, the artwork’s final price nearly tripled the modest starting bid of $40 mln to bring $119.9 mln, the highest figure ever paid for a work of art at a public auction. While the buyer has yet to be announced, the money is stated to fund several Norwegian real estate projects.

Skate’s is particularly proud to announce that our preliminary estimate for the artwork provided to The Wall Street Journal proved to be correct. On April 26, we were quoted as forecasting a final sale price of $92.5–123.4 mln on the basis of an accurate peer group assigned to the work and the irrational premium that we calculated.

The full article can be found at the following link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303592404577364321881780342

With all of the excitement surrounding the sale that made history, it is easy to overlook the fact that several other significant sales that took place during the past couple of days at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, including six others that sold for prices exceeding $10 mln.

To read our full issue of Skate’s Market Notes, including data, please click here.

This issue of Skate’s Art Investment Review is dedicated to the market for sculpture and focuses on the major upcoming May auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

In this Issue:

• April Entries to Skate’s Top 5000
• Repeat Sales Forecast for May
• Premium Segment of the Sculpture Market: Cherry Picking Investments
• Top 5 Art Investment Ideas for May 2012
  • Constantin Brancusi, Prométhée
  • Alexander Calder, Un noir et en jaune
  • Auguste Rodin, Le baiser, 1ère reduction
  • Henry Moore, Reclining figure
  • Alberto Giacometti, Buste de Diego

To read the full report, please click here.