LONDON - The festive season is approaching. The year's main art fairs are over, but London's galleries, antiques markets and salesrooms still offer a hunting ground for the gift-challenged. Vanessa Curry, an art consultant advising private collectors since 2007, offered some last-minute holiday shopping tips to Palko Karasz.
Q. Based on what you have seen this year, what do you think the trend will be this holiday season?
A. Increasingly we're seeing great examples of design - fine art crossover work reaching great prices but also a high level of interest from collectors and people who just want something beautiful for their home. For example, Lalique continues to get great prices.
Prints and editions by blue-chip artists continue to have great appeal and I think increasingly so, because the prices of unique paintings are so high for blue-chip artists that the editions and prints market is very strong.
Lalique is very solid as an investment but also, if you choose the really modern, architectural works, I think they stand the test of time in terms of modern design and interiors as well.
A. Quite a fun one that is going on at Christie's is the 'Sporting and Wildlife Art' sale on Dec. 10. If you have a dog lover in your family there are some great, and some of them very humorous, paintings of dogs. Lot 3, for example, is a great small painting and the title of it is 'A High-Maintenance Chihuahua,' from 1886.
'Un Moment de Perfection,' (at Christie's, on Dec. 3) has a lovely Cartier Art Deco vanity box with compartments for powder puff and lipstick.
There has been a surge of interest in these boxes, which are completely usable and attractive as ever. This is a special one that has all the hallmarks you could ever want to find in such an item.
On a more serious note, on Dec. 9 at Sotheby's there is the 'English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations' sale.
There are some really lovely illustrations, for example from A.A. Milne's 'Winnie the Pooh,' amongst other pieces. The illustrations for 'Winnie the Pooh' are by E.H. Shepard. It's 50,000 pounds to 70,000 pounds estimate (or $79,000 to $110,000) so we're not talking cheap here, and that is the original ink drawing from the book.
It's something that will stand the test of time, because Winnie the Pooh continues to be as liked today as it was yesterday.
For the men in the family there is a 'Fine and Rare Wines' sale at Bonhams, New Bond Street, on Dec. 4. There is also a 'Fine Clocks' sale on Dec. 10 at Bonhams, and often what you get with that is little travel clocks, which I think are very useful but also continue to be saleable and much loved.
Q. And on the antiques scene?
A. I would really recommend going to Grays antique market on Davies Street in Mayfair and also Alfies in Marylebone.
For men, if you are just looking for a piece like some cuff links, a travel flask or a nice walking cane, these markets would be absolutely fantastic for that.
Similarly, for women, they have not- highly priced beautiful pieces of jewelry. If you have £300 to £400 to spend you can absolutely go to one of those antiques markets, speak to a dealer who has a wealth of experience and be able to find something that's unique and special and probably with a story - which for the same amount of money you won't find on the high street.
Sometimes buying a gift is also about its accompanying story, that goes beyond walking down Oxford Street.
Q. Are these sales put together specifically with the holidays in mind?
A. I think that it's thought about, for sure. I mean a Tiffany sale in New York just before Christmas - I've bought Tiffany on behalf of clients for presents just before Christmas, so other people must have the same idea.
The auction houses now are trying to place themselves as dealers. Over the past two years, they have been presenting themselves as the go-to for consumers directly, not just the trade.
Which is a huge problem for the galleries and dealers: What the art dealers feel is that they're being squeezed dramatically out of the market. Of course people know that potentially you might be able to buy at a cheaper price at an auction house because it doesn't include the dealer's commission. But, by that, you don't get the same level of relationship and expertise that you might from a gallery or dealer.
A top art dealer or gallery will have expertise in excess of an auction house - and that is what you're missing out on by buying directly from auction.
Q. What about emerging art, or if you want to buy presents with philanthropy in mind?
A. There is a fantastic gallery sale linked to a charitable organization, happening right until Christmas, run by Studio Voltaire. They are a not-for-profit contemporary art studio and gallery. They exhibited at Frieze and they are known internationally for their work in terms of supporting young, emerging, highly thought-of artists: but also in terms of their sponsorship and charitable projects.
Studio Voltaire has a large number of items donated from contemporary artists and the artists they support. They have those items at the 'House of Voltaire' biennial temporary shop in central London.
FineCell Work is a charity that provides training in embroidery to prisoners in U.K. prisons. The work the prisoners produce is then sold, and it is stunning. I just commissioned a cushion for a client as a gift.
Q. Is there something for all budgets?
A. I think there is a whole spread of prices, values and qualities in the arts and antiques market in London.
For example, Didier on Kensington Church Street are dealers of fine jewelry that is produced only by artists such as Picasso, Dalí and designers such as Lalanne; and they have pieces going from a few hundred pounds to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
From there, you will find pieces that are not only by blue-chip names and absolutely in iconic style of that particular artist, but also you're getting something which has a good potential as an investment.
They have pieces from medallions through to rings and ornate jewelry, going beyond just paying for something pretty: It's more about investing in art but it's also very gift-worthy.
Q. Is there a risk of running into higher prices than during the rest of the year?
A. I think that if one looks desperate on Dec. 23, then potentially yes. But I think that, at auction houses, you can never tell who the overbidder and the underbidder is. But if you walk into galleries, and you don't look too desperate - and you've done a bit of background research in terms of what the kind of price level should be and what the quality of the item is - then any decent art or antiques dealer will happily enter into a very honest conversation. And I would be surprised if a reputable dealer would seek to get more money just because it's the before-Christmas rush.
Q. Have you seen any surprising or extravagant gifts with your clients in past years?
A. Just last year, mid-December, my client contacted me - his wife absolutely loves ornate glass and jewelry - and we bought a Tiffany lamp, mid-December, for £100,000. With another client, also last year, mid-December, we bought a piece of prewar, rare Lalique for £15,000.
Also we bought a piece of silver from Adrian Sassoon, and that was about £25,000. I think that they don't seek to be extravagant but if you have made your money from potentially nothing, then you want to show your appreciation to your family.
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