Sotheby’s is certainly breaking the ice in terms of selling contemporary work. Indeed one could call it a historical landmark. For artists it is highly significant at least in theory.
Next week, Damien Hirst will become the first artist to sell new work at Sotheby’s auction in London. Waldemar Januszczak asks “Could this be the end of the Gallery”?
Well it does turn the unwritten rule on its head. But will it really give power back to Artists or just for the great and ‘good’ I ask. We wait with baited breath.
Januszczak’s article can be read on line here:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article4669184.ece
See also the large baby etc here:
http://artobserved.com/marc-quinns-gigantic-baby-sculpture-up-for-private-auction-by-sothebys/
Why didn’t some other brand-name artists think of this before?
It’s said that Picasso, for example, liked to torment his dealers — playing one off against another –making them wait for hours outside his studio door. Everyone knew that whatever he made was going to be sold for a good price.
What would have been the downside for either artist or auction house back in 1920 ?
( BTW — here’s a more accessible link to the story)