To those old-timers in the art market who profess to have “seen it all” in the past few decades, the Coronavirus now spreading across the globe must be jarring and disorienting. For no one has seen this measure of uncertainty in recent memory.
Neither Black Monday of 1987 nor any similar economic upheaval of the past fifty years ever lasted long enough to really diminish the art market. Before you knew it, the crisis of 2008-2009 was past: new records were soon being established in the sale rooms; dealers were opening new galleries like fast-food franchises; and new-money players and celebrities flocked to art fairs, making them feel like theme parks. And yet, despite the art market always seeming resilient in the face of social and financial calamities, the Coronavirus seems very different in the measure of disruption it is causing.
International travel, the very lifeblood of the art market, is being restricted, with the auction houses coping as best they can. They have revamped sale schedules and even relocated auctions from Asia to New York, although it is unclear what the auction calendar will truly look like in spring and summer. Art fairs are being postponed or cancelled. Milan and Venice have become ghost towns.
Against this backdrop of gloom, we read with great interest the daily dispatches from multi-family offices and private wealth management firms cautioning their clients to remain calm. For just as the fundamentals of portfolio management need to be stressed in a time of financial or social crisis, the same is true of someone’s art collection. More than ever, planning and discipline are crucial.
One thing we’ve learned over the years is this: the value of art does not rise and fall with the stock market. Values are affected by matters of taste and demand, not by Wall Street. Travel bans and market uncertainty may disrupt the art market temporarily, but artworks of good quality, provenance and condition will continue holding their value even in difficult times. A cliché, but true.
We have always believed in the value and benefit of taking stock of one’s art collection, of doing regular inventories with updated values. Philanthropic planning with art is more important than ever. Art that will become part of an estate needs to be vetted for any looming authenticity or ownership issues. Hence for individuals, estates, foundations and families with art holdings this is not a time to panic but to plan.