Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Party's Over

Contrary to the naysayers, over the past couple of years I have continued to be optimistic about the art market, always realizing that eventually the party had to end.

Well, the party is over and I expect that the art market, both the auction markets and the retail markets are entering a period of severe contraction similar to the one experienced in the early part of the 1990's.

Housing starts overlaid with recessionary periods, since 1959.


The art market tends to follow the trend of the US economy often with a time lag of roughly one year. As I write this, the US economy has been contracting since about the start of the year and should remain weak into mid 2009. The world economic situation is severely compromised and vast amounts of wealth have gone to money heaven. This is not the kind of environment which fosters a vibrant art market.

Short and sweet, but I'll answer questions.