There are several reasons to sell low, according to Kantor.
‘Supply Chain’
“Some people are looking for a tax loss. Some people didn’t pay much. Some people bought for an investment,” he said from Los Angeles. “These are large works. You are paying storage and insurance.”
Keeping estimates modest could help set up a new bullish cycle, said Stefan Simchowitz, the Los Angeles entrepreneur known for buying in bulk from young artists on behalf of clients and for his own collection.
“I am going to be extremely active in the auction market as a seller and a buyer,” said Simchowitz, who owns 3,500 artworks.
At Phillips, Simchowitz is parting with a piece by Lucy Dodd, an artist he said he isn’t able to collect in depth. The work, made of rope strands hanging off a horizontal wooden bar like a curtain, may bring $10,000 to $15,000. Dodd’s auction record of $37,500 was set in May, shortly after the Whitney Museum of Art displayed her large-scale paintings made with materials such as fermented walnuts.
“I want to create a supply chain of work at lower price points so that people can come in again and start buying opportunistically,” Simchowitz said. “People can say: ‘I don’t have to worry about losing this money.”’
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.