Recession Resistant?

Of course, we're talking London, where the only thing higher than the pound's dominance over the dollar is the optimism and energy in its contemporary art scene, but if yesterday's Impressionism and Modernism auction results are any indication, it's not just contemporary art that's still hot and in demand. From The Guardian:

This week of big sales at rivals Sotheby's and Christie's is being seen as a bellwether, with many predicting the spiralling fine art market will eventually burst. That seems not to be the case quite yet. On Monday Christie's trumpeted the second highest European auction record only for it to be broken last night in a packed room of people bidding on behalf of the super rich.

Of course, on this side of the pond yesterday, the Dow took a nose dive. But while some dealers I know were gasping at the plunge, others (including myself) are taking a wait-and-see attitude. (Not that we have much in the way of options, mind you.)

There's no reason to break out the bubbly just yet, of course. Anyone assuming the recession won't have any impact is a dreamer. But even as we watch for indications that the sky is indeed falling, there are still signs that it's nowhere near the earth just yet:

Over at Bonhams auction house last night the world's first sale of urban art saw a Banksy screenprint of Kate Moss, a pastiche of Andy Warhol's portrait of Marilyn Monroe, fetched three times its estimate, selling for £96,000.

Perhaps speculation that the new global nature of the art market will prevent a 1990's type crash is proving true. As anyone will tell you, attitude is everything here:

Melanie Clore, deputy chairman of Sotheby's Europe, said the house felt "jubilant" after an evening which had been its most expensive impressionist sale ever; the strength of the sale could be seen in 60% of the 79 lots being sold over and above their high estimates.

"Jubilant" even. Keep the faith folks.