Want to build your art collection? Don’t use your sea-legs. Here’s a bit of cold, hard, truth for Magnusson readers: Buying art in a gallery located inside a cruise ship or at your local shopping mall is NOT usually a good idea. Here’s why: The artwork offered by galleries in those venues are often quite specious. Below is a cautionary tale.

Many years ago, I was tasked to appraise the art collection of a physically handicapped person. Her collection, displayed lovingly in her home, needed to be sold so she could move to an assisted living facility. A few years prior, this client had suffered a debilitating injury, resulting in paraplegia. After winning a significant liability lawsuit, she treated herself to the life-long dream of taking a cruise. On that cruise, my client became captivated by the art in the ship’s gallery and was enchanted by the art dealer. During one of their onboard auctions, she purchased many “original” and “limited edition” lithographs, paintings, bronzes and porcelain figures by renowned artists. Certificates of authenticity accompanied each of her acquisitions, and her receipts totaled well over $100,000 during the course of the cruise.

Meanwhile, Back on Dry Land...
At the time of this story, the internet was still in its infancy. Art sales data was not generally available. Today, there is actually TMI (too much information) on the world wide web, much of which is inaccurate, confounding, conflicting, deceptive and just plain wrong. During my research, what I learned was astonishing: my client's cruise ship art was practically worthless. The cruise ship’s art gallery was run by a large private firm. This firm was, in fact, under fire by the Attorney General’s Office, and in the middle of multiple class-action suits for selling overpriced copies as originals. Furthermore, the "auctions" were not real auctions, but rather sales to any willing bidder, not unlike a game of bingo. All this to say that the cruise ship's auction was essentially hucksterism in its highest form.

Cruisers are, by default, not on guard because they’re vacationing. Out in the middle of the ocean, away from any second opinion or verifiable sales data, champagned and strawberried to death, cruisers were (and still are) easily convinced by these professional peddlers that they’re getting the buy of a lifetime. It would be years before many of these art collecting novices would catch on. In this case, I was tasked with being the bearer of bad news to my client. Not only had her collection failed to appreciate in value (as she was told it would), but it was worth significantly less than what she had paid for it. Sigh.

Now for a Cold Dose of Reality.
Over my career, I have been privy to result of hucksterism in clients’ collections, in addition to the aforementioned “art”: Bradford Exchange plates, Thomas Kinkaid art, Hummels, QVC jewelry. They are depreciable goods which I hope they enjoyed owning. With millions of these items out there, today’s market cannot absorb such a quantity of mass-produced works. The most important aspect of a collection is its authenticity. Authentic, original works of art do have value. That said, “certificates of authenticity” are almost always bogus! They are issued by countless entities with unclear interests in the named artists’ work. They are essentially pumping out series of cheap copies, reproductions, giclees, photolithographs and embellished posters.

While determining authenticity is not an appraiser’s job, a professional, qualified appraiser can guide you through the art world’s treacherous waters. My words of advice to you: If it is sold and/or marketed as a “collectible”, it’s not collectible. And please, do not buy art in open waters! Stay smart, dear readers.

To learn more about art and appraisal options from The Magnusson Group, please visit our services page or schedule an appointment with us today!

-Authored by Lynn Magnusson, President

Know. Like. Trust.

www.TheMagnussonGroup.com