The Decorative Arts, Up for Grabs
Today, in the higher end decorative arts market, it is not about what an auctioneer can offer (or demand), but how can dealers present a better alternative. The auction method as practiced by the Sotheby’s/Christie’s duopoly works quite well in the fine arts. However, when the profit margins are squeezed and demand is suspect, they run for the hills. Good decorative arts are now open to all, as these firms are unable to sustain the market.
The divide between fine and decorative arts has never been so wide. With the exception of some sculpture (i.e. Giacometti) the decorative arts, and particularly furniture, has become an anathema for most auctioneers to handle. Painting and fine art have advantages of mobility, name recognition, and taste considerations. Furniture strives for all of these qualities but plainly lacks consistency in these areas. However, decorative arts have characteristics that fine arts can never have, and that is an advantage that is both misunderstood and sorely lacking in their image. Function, craftsmanship, and historical interpretation are values that must be explained, interpreted, and appreciated. Furniture and the decorative arts have those elements, yet their visual traits lack a universal recognition.
Perhaps the decorative arts will always be relegated to a second tier of acceptance. Their day in the sun in the last half of the 20th Century was perhaps overdone with excessive decorating and a different way of life for today’s billionaire of the moment. For a price, instant gratification and trophy items are easier to obtain and don’t necessarily require knowledge and understanding of the object. Most auctioneers don’t have the motivation to teach but are focused on the deal and structuring it to their benefit. Dealers will always have this advantage of imparting knowledge, if they are to survive.
The decorative arts market is now officially open to anyone, dealer or auctioneer, who can offer the right individualized service to a client, be it a sale, purchase, or consignment. Competition for selling now at an auction or selling for a price or through consignment to a dealer now bears thoughtful comparison. In a market no one can control (the duopoly does a good job “trying” to control fine art) furniture and the decorative arts have been evolving into a game of survival of the fittest. As auctioneers act as the only and last resort to sell or liquidate, dealers have an opportunity for innovation with an alternative approach. Risk can be substituted with a measured, unhurried, and calculated way.
This new opportunity for dealers is fraught with similar issues and problems not to dissimilar to what the auctions have been trying to overcome. However, the big difference is the methods. In today’s market the one shot auction process is a real roll of the dice; the dealer however can keep his cards closer to his chest.
By Lewis Baer
Douglas Stock
March 27, 2012
Lewis makes some excellent points, especially regarding the divergence of the paintings (fine art) and decorative market.
Unlike furniture, carpets and certain other types of antiques, paintings are not walked on or sat upon. They do not have socks and tee shirts stuffed in them, nor do they have items placed upon them. Does this make them better “art” objects, in and of themselves? No; but, at least tacitly, it can lead people to treat them with more respect than other items that fall into the “decorative arts” category.
The emphasis that seems to be placed on “signed” paintings does, indeed, make them more appealing as “trophy” items. And I agree with Lewis that people often times take the shortcut approach, instead of developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for the items they purchase to furnish their homes with. Explaining to one’s friends why the carving in a chair makes it special, or why the design and color quality in a Delft charger makes it earlier and more important, requires knowledge and probably some artistic passion, whereas pointing to a signature requires a large checking balance and, at least sometimes, not much more.
It would be unwise, though, on the part of those of us employed in the decorative arts trade to assume the threat to our livelihood is affected only by the primary locations of the major auction houses. That the big city locations of the foremost auction houses might be losing interest in some of the decorative arts does not mean that auctions, in general, do not present a grave threat to dealers. I am currently composing an article to deal more fully with the trend of private individuals flocking to auctions, and why this might be, but, in short, I would remind readers that regional auction houses seem to be taking a greater slice of the “retail” pie, even if the primary locations of the largest houses are abandoning it in the decorative arts.
Lewis does us all a service in reminding us to shore up our customer service. Though I doubt I am alone in the enormously frustrating experience of educating clients only to have them then turn to the auction houses to purchase.
Much of what seems to be missing now, relative to a quarter-of-a-century ago, is the informal loyalty that clients seemed to feel to dealers. In “the good old days”, educating a client and providing a high level of service seemed to be both a necessary and sufficient condition of assuring a high degree, if not total, loyalty on the part of clients. If someone asked you to try to locate a certain type of item for them, they would often times patiently wait until you did, understanding that you were investing your time and financial resources to secure what they were looking for.
The afore mentioned dynamic seems to have broken down in recent years, and this development serves neither dealers nor collectors effectively. When dealers feel like pawns, available to educate but not to purchase from, they are less likely to invest the time and effort to help collectors acquire what they have expressed interest in. Few industries operate, in that sense, like the antiques world. Try asking a lawyer to review some case law for you, educate you on the subject, and then tell them you went elsewhere. No one assumes a doctor wishes to spend twenty hours researching a certain illness and relating the information to the patient without being compensated. And yet, that is the modus operandi of the antiques business.
I am not sure why this shift has happened. Perhaps the general pace of life; or the move away from a more formal and genteel world. The internet, as many benefits as it has conferred, has also made the world a more anonymous and cold place. We get e-mail requests and questions from people in unsigned form. In this respect, the advantage of imparting knowledge that Lewis mentions often feels like an exercise in futility.
The above said, I found Lewis’ reminder, that whomever can “offer the right individualized service to a client” has a chance in the decorative arts market, to be helpful. We need to be constantly reviewing our own operations to see if we are still relevant. And client service, even if unappreciated and exploited by some, is often the key to attracting and retaining important client relationships.
Douglas Stock