Forbes Magazine, makes a “bold prediction” that art will finally sell online in 2010. Studio Art Direct www.studioartdirect.com agrees based on increased online sales in 2009. According to Susan Adams of Forbes, “Art will sell online. Back in the late 1990s, auction houses tried, and failed, to sell art over the Web. Sotheby’s partnership with Amazon and eBay‘s acquisition of bricks-and-mortar auction house Butterfield & Butterfield (now Bonhams & Butterfields) both flopped as it became clear buyers wouldn’t blow $5 million on a Barbizon plein-air painting; for those kinds of prices, they wanted TLC and in-person schmoozing. Buyers have since cozied up to the Internet, and things are finally changing. Christie’s says $95 million was bid or underbid last year using its online LIVE system. Expect more online art commerce soon.
We agree with this 2010 prediction, on a local level, and smaller scale than Christies, of course. We have seen an increase in online sales in 2009. Works have sold to customers from San Francisco to France.
We would also add to the prediction: Online art will become regionalized and more specific with certain websites providing genres or localized art making the search process easier for customers; supporting local regional artists – on an invidual and corporate level – will increase. Some companies, such as large healthcare providers are now making it a mandate that at least 80% of the artwork be created by local artists; and the popularity for archival quality giclees will continue to rise and more artists incorporate the medium into their portfolios.
Read full story in Forbes Magazine:
This is wonderful to read. Well writtten. I admire auction houses like Christies, Bonhams, and Sothebys. In fact, I visit their sites often. I hope they do well this year.
As a gallery owner in CT and supporter of local artists, I wanted to reach a larger audience than the greater Hartford area. Although there are many online auctions for the contemporary artist to use, few offer free memberships and listings. Also, on many of these sites, the fees and commissions are ambiguous. How wonderful it would be to have a online auction for the contemporary artist where services are free until their work sells, commissions are cut and dry, and the administrators have a working knowledge of art and seek buyers. GV Art Auctions is a new site. We are actively promoting artists and their works. This is something we love to do. We encourage artists to use the site, leave feedback and comments, and sell their work!
Keep artists painting!
By: gvartauctions on March 14, 2010
at 2:21 am
[...] magazine predicts that art will sell online in 2010 and Studio Art Direct’s blog – a is a corporate art consulting firm specializing in art created by Oregon & Washington [...]
By: Buy Art! « THE ARTIST'S SOULMATE on July 22, 2010
at 5:18 pm
whats up
By: JEREMIAH JAMES on September 7, 2010
at 9:48 pm