Quick question: On a contemporary painting does the medium of “oil on canvas” have any difference from “acrylic on canvas” in terms of value, quality or longevity? Trust all well…. Appreciate all, Charlie

Good to hear from you Mr. Ayres, This is indeed a tricky point. The classic rule is that paint on canvas (acrylic, oil, oil stick etc.) is more valuable than any work on paper, including those with paint, watercolor, pencil or pen. That’s why often you’ll find works on paper that have been “laid on canvas”, which, in theory, makes it more valuable, because if it’s “on canvas” it’s a… Read more
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Dear Mr. Lindemann, Apparently, the Warhol Authentication Board has decided to dissolve itself in view of the mounting legal fees it has had to support following various actions against it. In what way if any, according to you, should this impact the Warhol market?

Merci Claude, This is huge news, and you are right to point this out, no one has. Back in 1984, as a 21 year old kid, I once sat in an after-hours bar with Fred Hughes in Alphabet City around 3 or 4 am. He was a terrible anti-semite and an evil man. When Andy died, I suspect he sold several “rejects”, screens the artist rejected but that Fred saved,… Read more
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Never Mind the Griping, Here’s the Art Market

Last week it was time once again for the Frieze Art Fair, London’s annual, thoroughly exhausting week-long art-viewing marathon. Everywhere I went I felt the presence of the 10,000-pound elephant in the room: the art market could be felt in every aspect of what was happening in London. There was more art for sale than I could ever imagine, and though I worked hard to see the entire smorgasbord of… Read more

Is there any jewelry that you would consider as art?

Dear Maria, Artist jewelry for me is mostly overrated with some flashes of brilliance. Remember that artists have done jewelry for the past 100 years, and it’s never become very popular, perhaps for good reason. On the other hand, I love Calder jewelry, and this market has boomed for good reason, his pieces are real mini-sculptures. I’m a big fan of Cesar’s “compression” gold jewelry, where he crushed old gold… Read more
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Regarding the Richard Prince “Canal Zone” piece you purchased, what is the “whole chapter in this story yet to been told”? Also, has the value been affected post copyright infringement?

Well Katie Jean, This is how I see it: Richard Prince makes a lot of work, and it sells for a lot – BUT, name a body of work he made full-on, that he dedicated a huge 24th Street Gagosian show to (his first there), that got stuck in a market crash (Fall ‘08) and for which he got sued and lost! Only “Canal Zone” fits that bill, and only… Read more
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