Page 52 - Studio International - February 1966

Art Prices Current

by George Savage

Unprecedented difficulties lie in wait for anyone who certain 19th-century painters, however, is not sufficient to buy a medium-quality painting by an
undertakes to comment on the market for contem- entirely based on merit. Some Renoir paintings sell established contemporary or near-contemporary
porary art, for there are no frames of reference on for much higher prices than others because they master.
which a judgement can be based. In the case of older happen to blend with the popular 18th-century Nineteenth-century academic painting, after years
works it is possible to discern fairly well-defined French Court style in interior decoration. They take of not undeserved neglect, is showing signs of
market trends which can be related to existing social the place formerly occupied by Rubens in the 19th regaining popularity, and the work of Munnings, a
and economic factors. They fall into categories of century and Boucher in the 18th. bitter opponent even of fairly conservative con-
style, the popularity of which governs demand and Works characteristic of a popular aspect of a temporary art, continues to bring relatively high
therefore price. But style in the older sense no longer painter's style become well-known through repro- prices in the saleroom.
exists. In its place there is a series of fashionable ductions and books, eventually crystallizing into what The truth is that, except for the few adventurous
movements which follow each other at ever- is called, in the jargon of the public relations buyers, some modern art is beginning to lose touch
increasing speed. consultant, the artist's 'image'. The more closely a with the art-buying public. Too much stress should
There are so many contributory factors to this that work approximates to this image in the public mind, not be placed on prices realized for a second-rater
it would be impossible to comment on them the more it is likely to fetch. like Munnings, but the fact that his work is being
adequately, but the most influential is that art no But demand for contemporary art, and therefore its sought may be regarded as an indication of market
longer carries its former significance. Style was once price, is governed to a massive extent by a few trends. Buyers are beginning to look for something
governed by the fact that the painter and the patrons, of which New York's Museum of Modern they can understand without the intervention of a
sculptor contributed to a scheme of interior decora- Art is probably the most influential. Their promotion, third party to explain the intentions of the artist, and
tion which required many different arts and crafts to for instance, raised Jackson Pollock to a point where they are no longer afraid that by refusing to buy the
complete it. The necessity for a reasonable degree of one of his paintings could command $100,000, and products of the latest movement they will be
harmony between the component parts ensured that it needs an Old Master painting of considerable accused by future generations of missing the boat.
changes took place relatively slowly, no one section quality to attract as much money as this. Prices on Important work has been done in recent years, and
being excessively out of step with the others. this scale for contemporary art are not unpre- the amount of rubbish produced has not exceeded
Baroque did not give place to rococo overnight; in cedented. Nineteenth-century artists often earned that of former times by very much. It has merely been
painting, sculpture, furniture, tapestries and silver much more from a single picture if we make due a different kind of rubbish, but except to the
the transition may be traced step by step over twenty allowance for the fall in the value of money. It ought initiated it is sometimes difficult to tell one from the
years or so, and when the discoveries at Pompeii not to escape notice, however, that these are other.
inspired yet another version of classicism soon after precisely the paintings least in demand, and those of A movement which seems to have been under-
the middle of the 18th century, its development was the period which now realize the highest prices sold valued is the work of some of the German
hardly more rapid. with difficulty at the time. If past history is taken as a Expressionists, but signs exist that this neglect is in
When the art of painting broke away from its sister guide, its lessons are not favourable to the indefinite process of rectification, and increasing prices may be
arts, most of them debased by the introduction of maintenance of current prices for a great deal of expected when major works come on to the market.
machine manufacture, styles began to succeed each fashionable work. But most of these painters have already achieved
other with ever-increasing rapidity, and changes in If it is difficult to comment on the contemporary 'Old Master' status ; it would be difficult to point to a
the years following World War II have been as scene, it is virtually impossible to forecast what is post-war movement where the same process is
bewildering as the patterns of a kaleidoscope. If we likely to happen in the next few decades, although it likely to be repeated. There are, however, immovable
travel backwards in time from the modern scene to is hard to resist the temptation to try. The cult of objects even in this world of change, especially
consider the art of former years—the Impressionists, novelty for its own sake is increasingly under attack, Picasso, who is a movement in himself. His reputa-
their contemporaries and successors—we are at once and a few straws are being carried by a wind of tion remains undiminished, and his work is as
on much firmer ground. The Impressionists in par- change. eagerly sought as ever. This is only partly due to
ticular have now acquired 'Old Master' status, and A remarkable one is the sale last year of a pair of publicity. As a painter, he is probably the best that
although demand for their works may fluctuate birds designed by the late Dorothy Doughty and the age has so far produced, possessing a technical
there is no longer much likelihood of a considerable made in 1940 by the Worcester Royal Porcelain competence to match his vision.
fall in value for many of them. Indeed, as the more Company. These brought $50,000 (£17,000) early Perhaps, after all, there is something to be said in
important works pass into public collections the in 1965—a figure far higher than any recorded in favour of craftsmanship as an indispensable accom-
value of minor works is enhanced. The demand for recent years for antique porcelain, and more than paniment to art. q
Some recent Sale-room prices
Christie's, London
Raoul Dufy
La Rivière
£8,610 ($24;108)
25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in. First sold Paris, December 1926. Parke-Bernet, New York
A decorative example of the Dufy formula. Chaim Soutine Paul Cezanne
Portrait de Jeune Fille £7,560 ($21,168) Maisons à l'Estaque 1882-1885
Claude Monet 18 3/8 x 16 1/8 in. 25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in. $800,000 (£286,640)
La Rivière de l'epte à Giverney 1884 Exh. Paris 1910, and subsequently at the Chicago
23 5/8 x 28 5/8 in. £10,500 (S29,400) Maurice Utrillo Art Institution and the Metropolitan Museum.
Signed and dated. Rue de Banlieu 1912 £13,650 ($38,220)
Signed. Exh. Paris, 1919. With the certificate of Claude Monet
Camille Pissarro Paul Petrides dated 11th September 1965. L'Eglise San Giorgio Maggiore 1908
£27,300 ($76,440)
Le Ruisseau à Osny 1883 Characteristic street scene of the period of 25 5/8 x 36 1/8. Signed and dated. $64,000 (£22,931)
25 5/8 x 29 1/8 in. Signed and dated. excellent quality. Exh. Memorial Exhibition, Boston, 1927. Monet's
Exh. Durand-Ruel. February 1892. Originally from admiration for Turner well in evidence.
Mme. Camille Pissarro. Landscape of fine quality. Maurice de Vlaminck
Bord du Rhone 1914 £9,450 ($24,460) Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir 27 7/8 x 35 1/8 in. Signed and dated. Bouquet dans un Vase 1878 $125,000 (£44,787)
La Femme a la Draperie c. 1908. £12,075 ($33,810) 18 3/8 x 12 7/8 in. From Durand-Ruel. On loan to the
18 1/8 x 14 7/8 in. Certificate of 1924 from Paul Georges Seurat Metropolitan Museum, New York, since 1959. High
Guillaume. Characteristic seated nude of the period. Champs en Eta 1883 £37,800 ($105,840) but justified price for a painting of unusual quality.
Panel 6 3/8 x 9 7/8 in. First Exh. Paris, 1900; last, the
Alfred Sisley Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 1965. Painted at Marc Chagall
La Loing a Moret, en Ete 1891 £33,600 ($94,080) the age of twenty-four, the price suggests that Le Mari& sous le Baldaquin 1949
$78,000 (£27,947)
28 5/8 x 36 1/8 in. Signed and dated. Recorded by records might be broken if a later work came 45 1/8 x 37 in.
Francois Daulte. Very nearly Sisley at his best. on to the market. Signed and dated. Acquired from the artist.
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