In this guest piece, Art Valuer Briar Williams shares her insight into the risks of buying art, particularly for investment, when on holiday.
Whilst strolling the beach front shops in a warm and exotic location or taking part in the non-stop events on offer while on a cruise holiday, it is very tempting to pop into one of the local galleries or attend an onboard art auction while being plied with champagne and hospitality. Although this can be an enjoyable way to spend your holiday hours, an impulse purchase or two can make a big dent in the vacation spending money and often cause a few regrets once back on home soil.
In recent years there has been increasing awareness about art auctions that are held on cruise ships (and the likes of Viking make the point of not offering art auctions). These onboard galleries exhibit an array of artists, some well-known names such as Picasso, Dali and Rembrandt as well as other contemporary artists whose works are sold during onboard art auctions after clients are delivered a strong sales pitch and the promise of a purchase investment potential artwork. By making these art events fun and accessible, the galleries target the wide demographic of clients on board, many of whom may never have visited an art gallery on land and have little to no knowledge about what they are buying. Up until recently, onboard Wi-Fi has also been expensive to purchase, therefore limiting any research or price checking clients may be able to do about the value of what they are buying.
Outside of the cruise sphere, these artworks carry little resale value and as an art valuer I have often been asked to appraise these works with a view to sale or for insurance. Unfortunately the amount the client has paid onboard is often severely inflated and they have little hope of realising a sum anywhere near what they have paid in the excitement of the moment. The asking prices for comparable works are not available anywhere on the gallery website and a note online states that prices are subject to change due to fluctuating inventory. This makes it very difficult for anyone making an onboard purchase to make an informed decision about the value of what they are buying.
It's not just on-board cruise ships that it’s easy to get swept up in the moment. Glitzy looking galleries often occupy prime real estate in holiday hotspots hoping to make a sale to travellers who are caught up in the holiday spirit. Some galleries will show the work of photographers who specialise in nature photographer producing dramatic large-scale images with saturated colour and punchy lighting. This style of photography can be seen throughout stock image and postcards, taken by a number of other artists working in the same style but the success of these galleries comes from brand marketing; the presence of the upscale galleries in expensive locations immediately gives the photographs the aura of prestige even though these ‘limited edition’ images are produced in runs of 950.
A quick check of the auction sales, shows that photographs that sell in at a minimum of US$5,000 regularly realise around NZ$550 at auction and while it is not unusual for artwork to be sold for less than what’s paid for it in a retail setting, the focus placed on investment potential and desirability by the gallery sales assistants at the time of purchase can leave unwitting clients feeling as if they have been duped.
While an artwork can be a really lovely momento of a holiday, it’s worth keeping in mind that art purchased in holiday hot spots or on a cruise ship should be purchased for your enjoyment only rather than a potential upside, and if you’re not sure about committing to something on the spot take a bit longer to make up your mind. If you’re still thinking about it when you get home, a good gallery will be able to sell it to you once you’re home and you can keep that holiday feeling going just a little bit longer.
Briar Williams is an Art Valuer based in Auckland who provides informed, carefully researched art valuations and cataloguing services for clients throughout New Zealand. She can be contacted on briarwilliams@me.com or through www.artvaluationsnz.com
