What is an NFT?

Posted on March 9, 2022January 16, 2025 by Jonathan Horwich

Will they stand the test of time? Non-fungible tokens explained.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) seem to have come out of nowhere, however the technology has been around since at least 2014 if not before. The catalyst seems to have been Lockdown, if you can’t go to the saleroom then let the saleroom come to you, albeit virtually. Auctioneers, Galleries and Artists transformed their web presence almost overnight in order to offer NFTs that take the form of art and music and everything in between and are selling like hotcakes, some for a few £ and others for millions and millions of £, sometimes it feels like ‘Tulip Fever’ has re-visited us from the 17th-century…

What is an NFT?
An NFT is a digital asset recorded on the ‘Blockchain’ that represents actual objects such as art, music, in-game items and videos. An NFT is created, or “minted” from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items. They are bought and sold online, mainly using cryptocurrencies and are generally encoded with the same or similar software to that used by many crypto currencies. I think it’s best to assume that to be involved with buying NFTs you will have to embrace crypto currencies, the most common one used in NFTs is Ethereum. The value of Crypto currencies changes minute to minute day to day, before Christmas one Etheruem was worth around £3,000 to 1 Ethereum today its down to nearer to £2,200 to E1. Ethereum’s value is not only affected by the usual world events and demand but also by the sale of significant numbers of NFTs. Just like the Stock market, a collector offloading significant numbers of NFT’s creates downward price pressure on both crypto currency and the value of NFTs.

New NFTs are announced as ‘Drops’ and are either unique one off pieces or part of a limited edition exactly like limited edition prints, which interestingly were all the rage exactly 100 years ago back in 1922!
NFT ‘editions’ can be one off unique works or one from of a very limited run, large or small and each will have a unique identifying codes or features. Similar to Banksy print editions that are produced in total numbers of either 150 or 500, each print is individually numbered and carries formal certification and the ownerships changes are recorded, the smaller edition of 150 is also signed, typically numbered by hand in pencil, 7/150 the larger 150/500 etc.

What does fungible mean?
Physical money and cryptocurrencies are “fungible,” meaning they can be traded or exchanged for one another. For example I give you a fiver you give me one back and we are quits, i.e. they are fungible and equal in value – one dollar is always worth another dollar; one Bitcoin is always equal to another Bitcoin. Crypto’s fungibility makes it a trusted means of conducting transactions on the Blockchain.

What is Blockchain?
NFTs exist on a blockchain, which is a public ledger that records transactions and ownership. If you are already familiar with Crypto currency then blockchain is the same underlying process that makes cryptocurrencies possible.

Specifically, NFTs are typically held on the Ethereum blockchain, although there are other blockchains that support them as well.

Each individual unique NFT is different. Each one has a digital signature that makes it impossible for NFTs to be exchanged for or equal to one another (hence, non-fungible).
NFTs can have only ever have one owner at a time their unique data verifies their ownership and transfers ownership to new owners and artists can sign their artwork by including their signature in an NFT’s metadata.

Are NFTs here to stay?
I think yes, and they offer new opportunities and life enhancements. For example artists can now cut out the gallery and sell direct to the public and also engage with them face to face and online. Owners form communities who join together to discuss the artists they collect and follow. The discussions are not just about money, the NFT is very inclusive and no longer the exclusive domain of the mega wealthy collector and in buying NFT’s you support artists and get the inside track on the latest news and drops.
Also its all virtual you don’t have to worry about where to hang your piece, it lives in the secure ‘wallet’ on your phone and you can look at it anytime you like.

Who are the big names in NFT’s and why do collectors spend such huge sums of money on them?
The most famous and valuable digital artist is Mike Winklemann, better known as “Beeple” he made a composite of 5,000 daily drawings he made over five years to create perhaps the most famous NFT of the moment, “EVERYDAYS: The First 5000 Days,” which sold at Christies New York in March 2021 for £69 million. However you don’t have to own the Beeple NFT to see it, anyone can view the individual images—or even the entire collage of images online for free. So why are people willing to spend millions on something they could easily screenshot or download?
Owning the NFT allows the buyer to own the original item. Blockchain offers authentication and provenance which offers proof of ownership.
Artists can also program in future royalties so they can receive a percentage of sales whenever their art is sold to a new owner. This is an attractive feature for artists as generally they don’t always receive future proceeds after their art is first sold.

How do I Buy NFTs
First, you’ll need to get a digital wallet that allows you to store your new NFTs and cryptocurrencies. You’ll need to purchase some cryptocurrency like Ethereum, which you can buy using a credit card on platforms such as Coinbase, Kraken, eToro and PayPal. There will be fees so watch out for these, most exchanges charge a percentage of your transaction when you buy crypto.
Once you’ve got your wallet set up and funded, you are good to go. Currently, the largest NFT marketplaces are:

OpenSea.io
Rarible
Foundation

These platforms are host to thousands of NFT creators and collectors, equally you can also go to auction as all the main International auction houses now have fully staffed departments dealing only with NFT’s with private and regular auctions and ‘Drops’. Also the bigger galleries such as Pace now have a separate NFT department.

Should I buy NFTs?
NFTs are risky because there is no discernible secondary market as yet and so there are no comparable secondary sale prices that you might be looking at if collecting mainstream art. It’s all just so new, so maybe it’s worth just dipping your toe in the water and go for individual artists selling direct like ‘Waxbones’ via the site knownorigin.io. I was very impressed when I heard him on Radio 4 recently, as he says himself ‘I design information and wayfinding for cities by day and expel my creative juices under the alias ‘Waxbones’. by night.. his prices start at around £300 for his limited editions.

Buying NFTs must be a personal decision and only if you have money to spare and remember that the value is based entirely on what someone else is willing to pay for it. An NFT when it comes to resale may go for less than you paid for it, or you might not be able to sell it at all if nobody wants it.

I heard a collector speaking on the radio recently, he owns 15 NFT’s which he has bought as part of his broader investment portfolio, he has valued them all at £O! This way as he says ‘the only way is up’!

There lots to study and see out there on NFTs so take a good look around and enjoy!

Dame Laura Knight, RA, DBE, RWS (1877-1970)

Posted on August 25, 2020August 22, 2024 by Jonathan Horwich

Dame Laura Knight was an extraordinarily gifted painter, who despite being painfully shy in her early years, later developed a great sense of personal style and strength of character and honed her true genius for colour and composition.

Laura Knight – Artist’s Self Portrait, at her easel, public collection

Laura had a great lust for life and embraced everything it threw at her; from being a teaching assistant at Nottingham School of Art, aged 13, via the shores of North Yorkshire and Cornwall and following critical success becoming the first ever female Royal Academician. She was also the only female War artist in World War Two, covering the Nuremberg War Crime trials as the official British artist, with her career culminating in1963 with being the first female artist to have a full retrospective exhibition of her work at the Royal Academy.

Laura Knight – Nuremberg war crimes trials, collection of the Imperial War Museum

What a life! Laura really packed everything in. She had a very pale ‘English Rose’ complexion and blushed very easily, especially when confronted by ‘chaps’ other than her husband, the painter Harold Knight whom she married in 1903. For those of you who like movies featuring real artists, you can see Laura on Netflix in the flesh as it were in the 2013 movie ‘Summer in February’ starring Dominic Cooper as the painter Alfred Munnings, Laura is brilliantly played by Hattie Morihan and the movie is set in Lamorna, Cornwall.

Laura Knight – On the Cliffs, Cornwall. Signed, oil on canvas, 63 x 76 cms. Sold December 2009, £ 646,050 the current world record price

The action takes place in February of 1913. As Spring comes early down there, it was during what proved to be the last golden, warm, and peaceful Cornish Spring before the destruction and devastation of WW1 arrived in 1914. Laura is tongue-tied and red in the face whenever she is confronted by the roguish painter Alfred Munnings (Dominic Cooper is just playing himself I think!), who takes every opportunity to embarrass Laura with his advances whenever Laura’s husband Harold was nowhere to be seen.

Laura Knight, Ballet Girl and Dressmaker, signed, oil on canvas, 96 x 122 cms. Sold July 2018, £322,000

Laura learned painting from her mother who taught at Nottingham School of Art. When she was only13 her mother became terminally ill and Laura effectively took on her role. She married her childhood friend the painter Harold Knight (1874-1961) in 1903 and they moved to join the Staithes artists’ colony based on the North Yorkshire coast due north of Whitby, living and working in or near the village of Staithes .

Laura Knight – Packing Fish, Staithes, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 cms. Sold March 2013, £20,000

Her style is quite different in Staithes. As money was tight, she painted mostly in watercolour there. However, the work is very charming. She loved the local people and depicted their daily life in low-ceilinged, poorly lit interior with figures using muted and subtle colours.

Laura Knight – Marsh Mallows, Cornwall. Oil on canvas, 76 x 64 cms. Sold Dec 1999, £331,500

The Knights moved to Cornwall in 1907 and by 1908 Laura’s style had transformed under the influence of the warm, brilliant light, dazzling blue green seas and glorious sunny days. All this lifted her palette and her work to new heights. When this new work was first shown at the Royal Academy it caused a sensation and even today these truly remarkable Cornish pictures always command the highest prices.

Laura Knight – Munitions worker, collection of the Imperial War Museum

Laura Knight was a great painter in the British Impressionist tradition and a trailblazer for women artists of the 20th Century. Both Laura and Harold enjoyed critical and financial success, with Laura notably arriving in her Rolls-Royce to paint at the Epsom Derby. She was also amazingly productive, painting continuously for well over 50 years.

Laura Knight – A dull day Epsom, oil on canvas, 63 x 76 cms. Sold may 2014, £88,000

She was always on the hunt for new subjects, which in addition to Staithes and Cornwall include; the theatre, ballet, the circus – with all its players and characters – glamour girls and ladies, horse racing, fairgrounds, landscapes… She was a remarkably busy lady indeed, so luckily for the collector there are many buying opportunities, from fine black and white etchings for not much money, to drawings and sketches, and watercolours and oils.

Mary Fedden 1915-2012

Posted on August 18, 2020August 21, 2024 by Jonathan Horwich

They say you should never meet your heroes, however in my case meeting my heroine Mary Fedden back in 1989 went without a hitch and she was a pure delight throughout.

Mary Fedden
The Blue table, oil on board, 76 x 91 cms.
Painted in 1959,
Sold in Feb 2007 for £49,200 ( estimate 15-20,000)

We were both council members of the artists’ charity the AGBI, founded by J M W Turner in 1814; 200+ years later we are still helping artists and going strong. The Committee would meet eight times a year with ten or more council members, mainly artists with some commercial art members such as myself in attendance also. I sat opposite or near Mary for the next ten years or more and if I close my eyes I can still hear her rich, gentle and mellow speaking voice, just the sort of voice that suits fairy tales read aloud. Mary had been on the council for years when I joined, and she was happily enjoying a well-deserved revival of fortunes. Back in 1989 the art market was enjoying a real high point. It was a ‘bonkers’ market for art which lasted until November 1990 when it finally ‘tanked’.

Mary Fedden Tuscan Terrace, signed and dated 1956, oil on canvas, 50 x 76 cms. Sold £27,500 July 2010 ( estimate £20-30,000)

Mary was showing her work in an exhibition in a gallery in Cork Street. On the opening day lines of people had begun forming up outside the gallery from the early morning, all trying to be first in to buy. Part of the reason for this was Mary’s insistence that her prices should be attractive, ie low so as to ensure success, so the pictures were all priced between £300 and £600, which for the commercially minded collector in the queue outside represented an immediate profit on the current auction prices; hence the feeding frenzy … I remember buyers were limited to no more than 3 pictures per person! On or around Mary’s 90^th birthday in 2005 I managed to get her in for a boardroom lunch I was hosting at Christie’s, at which she told me a little more about her life and career.

Mary Fedden My Things, signed, oil on canvas, 101x 162 cms. Sold twice, first in June 2006 for £30,000 and again in 2008 for £103,250 !!

She had married fellow artist Julian Trevelyan in 1951. It was his second marriage and her first, and as was the convention back then, Mary almost entirely parked her painting career and ambitions not long after they married. At the time it was not thought appropriate to compete with one’s husband in a marriage between painters.

Mary Fedden. Mary’s husband Julian Trevelyan by the Thames, signed, oil on board, painted in 1978, 78 x 68 cms sold for £19,200 in Nov 2007.

Julian became President of the RA and died in 1988 and so 1989 marked the first year Mary felt able to ‘go for it’ as it were. She had not stopped painting in the intervening years, she had just stopped selling. Her pricing was probably still stuck in the fifties also! Her accountant told her that in 1989 she earned as much in that one year as she had earned since getting married in 1951 and 1988!

Mary Fedden Julian in the Greenhouse, signed and dated 1986, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 cms. Sold £ 25,000 July 2015 ( estimate £8-12,000)

The appeal of Mary’s work is universal and immediate and private collectors loved and admired it back then and still do now. Also, for me Mary’s work is unique to her and she does not owe anything to or follow any school of painting, making her work recognisable and attractive.

Mary Fedden, The White Umbrella , signed, oil on canvas, 91 x 101 cms. Sold Nov 2007 for £48,000 ( estimte 30-50,000)

Mary’s prices rocketed, albeit from a low base in the late 80’s, so her confidence grew and grew, and her prices have remained strong continuing to gain ground today. Mary was a delight to know and she lived and loved to paint.

Mary Fedden. Tabby’s dinner, signed, oil on canvas, 40 x 50 cms. Sold June 2007 for £22,000 (estimate £6-8,000)

When she was no longer able to travel, she painted at home in Hammersmith using postcards of her old paintings as source material. I have unashamedly chosen some of my favourite pictures for this piece and you can buy her work at the Portland Gallery in London, who also take great care looking after her estate and artistic legacy.

The Importance of Consulting Industry Recognised Art Specialists

Posted on June 27, 2020August 16, 2024 by David Dallas

Reports in the press recently about fake paintings loaned to a country house in Scotland and the London art dealer who paid £1m for a painting and proceeded to sell it on for £8m, highlight the importance of consulting recognised industry specialists when buying or considering selling. Unfortunately, these examples are only the ones in the press and not the works we see where clients have overpaid or the works are not right and we are the bearer of bad news.

This then reminds me of a very sad story that happened nearly 50 years ago, when I worked on the front counter at Christie’s, King Street.

A middle-aged man came to the desk with a large canvas of Diana and her hand maidens, wrapped up in brown paper and string. He said it was his family’s ‘Rubens’ and he wanted it valued. By pure chance, Christie’s Old Master Department had just taken on Gregory Martin, who for the previous 10 years had been curator of Flemish paintings at The National Gallery and was a Rubens expert. He examined the picture and pronounced it an old copy worth £1000-£1,500. I went back downstairs with the painting, wondering how best to break the news. He took it very badly, the blood draining from his face and slumping backwards into a chair. I bought him a cup of hot sweet tea like you do for trauma victims and he told me the story of how the painting came to be his.
His father had died a year ago and as the elder son, he was allowed first choice from the collection. The ‘Rubens’ was undoubtedly the most significant thing in the castle, and he had always loved it, so that was what he chose. His younger brother got everything else, which amounted to a little over three hundred paintings. I just prayed his brother was the accommodating type.
If only he’d taken a second opinion from a recognised specialist in the field of Old Master paintings prior to making his final choice. Please don’t make the same mistake.

In the art world there are many different genres of works and consequently experts who are authorities in their chosen field. Here are a few of our specialists who help to showcase the breadth and depth of knowledge we offer to our clients.

David Dallas,
Old Masters Specialist

David Dallas joined Christie’s in 1969, where he was the youngest person in a Technical Department (Old Masters). He subsequently became deputy head of the Picture Department at Phillips Son and Neale and ended his auctioneering career as International Director (Global Head) of Old Masters at Bonham’s in January 2015.

In between he worked for more than twenty years with Johnny Van Haeften, specialising in Dutch and Flemish paintings of the 17th Century. He is a specialist in British Landscape Paintings 1750-1850.

He was for many years on the Vetting Committee of the Summer and Winter Art and Antiques Fair at Olympia and Chairman of the Picture Vetting Committee at Grosvenor House Fair and has also been on the vetting committee of Masterpiece. He is a trustee of the Reading Foundation for Art, a former Chairman of The Friends of Readings Museum and Gallery and an external advisor to the Collections Committee of Eton College.

Jonathan Horwich,
Modern British Art Specialist

Jonathan Horwich began his career in the art world in 1973 with the picture dealer Thomas Agnew. In 1976 he joined the picture department of the recently opened Christie’s South Kensington, where he valued and catalogued their many multi- discipline picture sales. He was involved in all aspects of ‘CSK’s business including their innovative ‘ Roadshow’ valuation days held at locations across the UK. Jonathan became a regular auctioneer from 1984 onwards and an Associate Director in 1985.

In 1987 Jonathan was recruited to join Christie’s in King Street as Director and head of the Modern British picture department. During this time Jonathan continued as an auctioneer and gained a strong reputation for the sale of single owner Modern British Art collections, including those of Frederick Forsyth , Peter Meyer and many others and also became recognised as an expert in Modern British Art. In addition to his role in Modern British at Christie’s, Jonathan was appointed head of British and Irish Art in 1998, International Director of the 19th European picture department in 2003 and Deputy Chairman in 2006.

After 22 years at Christie’s King Street, Jonathan joined Bonhams in late 2009 as Global Director of picture departments, where he continued his involvement with Modern British auctions, while at the same time building up Bonhams worldwide picture auctions. This included setting up Impressionist and Contemporary sales and departments in London and New York. In January 2016 Jonathan was recruited to join Phillips in London as a Senior Specialist Director with a focus on Modern and Contemporary British Art a position which he held until December 2018.
Jonathan is recognised as an expert in the Modern British field and maintains close links with experts and galleries and also keeps abreast of all current market developments, trends and issues. Jonathan has a particular interest in and knowledge of the work of L.S. Lowry. As a result he has appeared on ITV’s ‘ Looking at Lowry’ and a Lowry focussed episode of the BBC’s ‘ Fake or Fortune’ .

Jonathan serves as a Council member and Steward for the Artists charity, the Artists General Benevolent Institute (AGBI) and is a member of Chelsea Arts Club.

Ben Hanley,
Contemporary Art Specialist

Ben is an established contemporary art specialist. He began his career working in the Old Master and 20th Century markets before moving into the contemporary market. He has over 20 years’ experience working in the UK and international art markets.

A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the Courtauld Institute of Art London, Ben has developed specialist level knowledge in Old Masters, Impressionist, Modern and Post War & Contemporary art. In addition to this Ben has extensive project management experience having curated and produced over 100 art projects spanning highly complex multi-venue festivals to smaller bespoke events. He has worked with governmental, institutional and commercial partners including the National Gallery, V&A, the Serpentine Gallery, the Courtauld Institute, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and the Russian Ministry of Culture.

Does Your Current Insurance Reflect Art Market Increases?

Posted on June 26, 2020November 11, 2024 by Ben Hanly

Yayoi Kusama –
KOKORO (Heart), 1988

We asked our Head of Contemporary Art, Ben Hanly, to look at how values have changed over the past few years to illustrate just how important it is to have the value of your collection updated regularly. We think you will be shocked by the results!

David Hockney (British, 1937)
Pool Made with Paper and Blue Ink for Book, 1988
Lithograph, edition of 1,000
26.5cm x 22.5cm

2015 – £10,000

Now – £25,000

Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, 1929)
KOKORO (Heart), 1988
Acrylic on canvas
65cm x 53cm

2006 – £45,000

Now – £225,000

Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)
Marilyn (no. 31)
Screen-print, edition of 250
91.4cm x 91.4cm

2015 – £175,000

Now – £300,000

Banksy (British, 1974)
Girl with Balloon, 2003
Spray-paint and stencil on canvas, edition of 25
40.5cm x 40.5cm

2015 – £175,000

Now – £600,000

To speak to us about an art valuation call us on 01883 722736 or email [email protected]

LS Lowry

Posted on July 23, 2019August 15, 2024 by Jonathan Horwich

I have been involved in Modern British painting and sculpture since 1987 when I took charge of Christie’s Modern British department. This brought me into direct contact with the artists themselves, their families, friends and collectors, which I found totally absorbing and fascinating. My fate was sealed, and I think I became a Modern British ‘Lifer’ in 1988 when we held the Camden Town Group exhibition. However, little did I know back then just how large a part Lowry would play in my working life over the next 32 years.

‘The Village Street’ appeared in the Christie’s Review of the Year for the 1964-65 season having been sold for a then record price of 1,600 Guineas

I think it’s fair to say that L S Lowry is probably one of the best known 20th century painters in the UK, with his work being more easily recognisable to British people than many other national or even international artists. This wide recognition and easy acceptance have led to a healthy and consistently strong level of interest from private collectors over the last 60 or more years.
For the first-time art collector, Lowry’s signature pieces are immediately engaging and have a broad appeal. Typically, a first and second Lowry purchase would both be signature pictures, after which would follow less obvious works, such as a minimalist sea piece or a dreamlike, haunting, empty landscape. This interest in collecting a single artist led to the formation of some great collections, many of which I have had the privilege of either helping put together and or selling over the years.
Critical and financial success for Lowry, like so much in his life, came late. Although born in 1887, his first London exhibition at the Lefevre gallery was not until Autumn 1939, then again in 1943 and the third in 1945, when Britain had other things on its mind.

‘Northern Race Meeting’ which achieved £5,296,000 in 2018

Lowry served the War out as a Fire Warden in Manchester and when life and exhibitions began again at Lefevre in the 50’s, buying Lowry pictures suddenly became very fashionable and fun and his exhibitions were sell-outs. So strong was the interest that at one point in the early 60’s Lowry’s prices at auction exceeded his then current gallery prices. As if to illustrate this, an article featuring a 1935 picture called ‘The Village Street’ (pictured) appeared in the Christie’s Review of the Year for the 1964-65 season having been sold for a then record price of 1,600 Guineas.
If the sixties marked the beginning for Lowry acquisitions and collections, then March 1995 and the Rev. Geoffrey Bennett collection sale at Christie’s, marked the beginning of a series of collection sales at auction. Bennett was followed by the Frederick Forsyth collection, 2002, Laurence Ives, 2004, Lord Forte, 2011 and the Thompson collection in 2014. All of these single owner, single artist sales helped to expand the market and to increase the awareness of Lowry and also spawned new collectors many of whom I have got to know well.

‘The Football Match’ sold for £5,641,00 in 2011

Although there haven’t been any significant collection sales since the Thompson sale in 2014, Lowry prices and interest have remained strong with top prices still being achieved for signature pictures such as Northern Race Meeting (pictured) in 2018, which achieved £5,296,000.
Equally many records still stand from 2011-2014 such as The Football Match (pictured) in 2011at £5,641,00 and Piccadilly Circus (pictured) at £5,122,000 in 2014.
Lowry painted and drew continuously throughout his long and very productive life, so happily there are still many new works out there still to be discovered. I have been fortunate enough to have seen hundreds of works by Lowry over the years through my work with collectors and involvement with the Lowry collection in Salford and I look forward to seeing many more…

‘Piccadilly Circus’ achieved £5,122,000 in 2014

The Art Market and Brexit

Posted on July 23, 2019August 15, 2024 by Ben Hanly

With the final phase of Brexit looming ever nearer and no defined solution yet emerging, all sectors of the UK economy are thinking ahead nervously to discern what effect this messy divorce with Europe will mean for them – this is no less the case than with the UK Art Market.

The British art and antiques market is the third largest of its kind in the world with a global share of 22%, and a 65% share of the European Union’s art and antiques market. It represents total sales of over £10 billion annually and it is comprised of 7,850 businesses, providing direct employment for 41,420. The British art market is defined as being a ‘entrepot market’ in that it serves as a conduit for sales of artwork which are often imported into the UK solely to be sold here and then re-exported out of the country – one only has to look at the main Impressionist, Contemporary and Russian sales to demonstrate this, together with the top tier of international art fairs such as Frieze, Frieze Masters, Masterpiece and PAD. The Art Market is therefore particularly active and dependent upon cross-border trade.

Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, originally predicted that Britain would probably suffer a moderate Post Brexit downturn in the economy; this prediction now seems to be highly conservative with current estimates ranging from post-Apocalyptic melt down to a simple short-term realignment of the UK economy.

What is certain is that the strength of the Pound will continue to fall until clarity has finally emerged. This, in itself, is not universally bad for the UK Art Market as it makes purchasing UK goods cheaper for foreign investors – UK collectors, however, find it more expensive to buy internationally in the short term. The one category of high-value secondary art that will be affected negatively post-Brexit is art where the primary market is British buyers. Consignors may choose to wait for the Pound to stabilize and uncertainty to decline. The obvious category is Modern British Art of the 20th century. It is also possible that he Old Master market will be similarly hit in the short term as UK buyers make up a small but significant portion of the collector base.

Having said this, it is not all doom and gloom for the UK market, typically UK collectors only represent between 10% of the total turnover at the main London Auctions – this figure includes purchases by foreigners living in the UK. Many Eastern European and Middle Eastern buyers will still prefer London over New York. Although it is true that some consignors may prefer to offer their works in New York rather than in London.

Post Brexit, London may indeed even emerge to be a stronger auction market compared to Paris and the rest of Europe as it should be free of EU regulations, particularly the Artist’s Resale Rights levy (ARR). This had final implementation in the U.K. in 2012, after six years of strong resistance by the government. ARR entitles creators of original works of art to a royalty each time a work is resold through an auction house or dealer for more than €1,000. It is levied at 4% on sales between €1,000 and €50,000, declining to 0.25% on sales at more than €500,000. ARR continues for 70 years after the artist’s death.

ARR has put the U.K. at a distinct disadvantage for art sales compared to dealers and auction houses in New York, Switzerland, or Hong Kong, which do not levy the charge. It has been suggested that the UK’s global art market share in post-war and contemporary (the sector most affected by ARR) fell from 35% to 15% from 2008 to 2013, due mainly to the implementation of ARR in 2006.

Brexit or not, London will continue to be the preferred choice of residence for international Non-Dom Billionaires, many of whom are major art purchasers, and it is doubtful that a new government will do nothing to make the city or its tax advantages less attractive. London is a major centre for professional and financial services because of the rule of law, and attractive because of its cultural life and quality of infrastructure. The Brexit vote did not change any of this.

The uncertainty surrounding the whole Brexit negotiations has led to a great deal of money being transferred around the money markets to gold, US Treasuries and similar investments deemed a safe store of wealth. Historically, when financial markets are in turmoil, art is seen as a good store of long-term value, and a hedge against inflation and changes in the relative value of currencies. For iconic works, there’s a chance to to peg the purchase price against the future value of the US Dollar. The new financial fragility of the EU means that investors will be concerned about high-debt, high-risk member countries—notably Greece and Portugal, but also Spain and Italy. Borrowing for art purchases against assets in these countries may become more problematic and expensive so it is reasonable to expect that these national art markets will experience a downturn and will languish for a while.

In periods of uncertainly such as Brexit, art investors tend to moderate risk by investing in works by Blue Chip artists and more established genres rather than emerging artists since Blue-Chip artist are believed to be safer stores of value, even if the upside profit potential is less. Undoubtedly this will strengthen the high-end Impressionist and Modern markets, which are already the main players of the total market. This same trend will no doubt be experienced at the top end of the Jewellery and collectors watch markets. There is a consensus in the art market that this ‘flight to the better-known’ will be the case at least over the next year or two.

In conclusion, as with everything surrounding Brexit, no certainly exists about how it will play out and the affect it will have on the UK Art and Antiques market – but in fairness, why would we expect there to be certainly following the messiest and most expensive divorce in world history? One thing is clear, in the medium to long term the Art Market will survive and adapt to any and all challenges thrown at it, but in the short term the domestic market will undoubtedly show signs of significant market contraction – but this, in itself, will potentially create new investing opportunities for collectors in the medium term.

As ever, it is the top end of the market which will weather the storm best with top examples by established artists attracting attention and achieving strong prices as investors diversify into these Blue-Chip works. Paradoxically, the strong prices that this alternative investing produce will no doubt inadvertently do much to help bolster global confidence in the art market in the medium to long-term.

Call us today to enquire about an appointment on 01883 722736 or email [email protected] or visit our website www.doerrvaluations.co.uk

David Dallas, Old Masters Specialist

Jonathan Horwich, Modern British Art Specialist

Ben Hanley, Contemporary Art Specialist

David Dallas,
Old Masters Specialist

Jonathan Horwich,
Modern British Art Specialist

Ben Hanley,
Contemporary Art Specialist