The Boom Is Dead...Long Live the Collections

A very polite young woman called me a few weeks back and asked whether I could hold for Milton Esterow. I was somewhat sure it must be a prank call, but sure enough within a few moments I was speaking with the legendary editor and publisher of ARTnews magazine. Some folks get starstruck talking with movie actors or lead singers of famous bands...I tend to buckle at the knees in the presence of publishing giants and was like "er...yes sir...uh...thank you sir...." (...not quite ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille).

Truth be, we had a lovely conversation. Mr. Esterow was charming, gracious and generous as we chatted about a few blog posts that we had all hashed out a while back about buying art during a recession (see parts I and II here). In the March 2009 issue of his magazine, Mr. Esterow kindly mentions that topic amid predictions by a wide range of dealers, curators, museum directors, and collectors on how the art market will fair in 2009:

"It’s the best time to buy,” said Don Rubell, who with his wife, Mera, is on the ARTnews list of the world’s top 200 collectors.

“I’d buy till it hurts right now,” said Peter Marzio, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

“If you’re liquid, this is the time when there are bargains,” said Michael Findlay, a director of Acquavella Galleries in New York.

“There are unbelievable opportunities,” said William Ruprecht, Sotheby’s chief executive officer.

What’s going on? Where have these folks been lately? After all, the Wall Street bankers, the Russian oligarchs, the hedge-fund poo-bahs, the casino tycoons, and the Asian billionaires no longer have so many billions. It’s no secret that the art bubble has burst.

The truth of the matter is, if you have the means, now is an extraordinary time to add some serious heft to your contemporary art collection. And there's a class of sophisticated collectors who know this:

“The real collectors are still buying—but less,” said Pierre Levai, president of Marlborough.

Raymond J. Learsy, a prominent New York collector with his wife, Melva Bucksbaum, agreed. He said, “I’ve always felt that the art market marches to a different drummer than financial markets. People who are really interested in art are a little bit like smokers. You just can’t give it up. It becomes intrinsic to your life and you go and delve into resources that you might not have thought you had to continue collecting.”

Rubell told me that some of the best pieces in his collection were bought during the last recession. “It takes courage to buy at a moment like this, but you get rewarded very much,” he said. “Things are available now. There’s more negotiating going on. Buy pieces from artists who are totally established, who have a track record, or buy from very young artists. There’s always a new generation of artists coming up.”

The article is chock full of great long-term insights and advice on navigating the current market. Anyone collecting, or thinking of starting, should not miss this piece.