After three years of confusion, unorthodox market practices abound
(December 2011) The collapse of global economic growth in 2008, followed by massive stimulus programs in the United States and China, has left investors with a profound distrust of governments and banks, whether publically or privately owned. The consequences for the art market have been profoundly difficult to read because the flood of liquidity combined with high inflation has led to an uneducated rush into so-called alternative investments, including art.
     Sadly this rush resembles the annual migration of the wildebeest in the Great Rift Valley in Africa. Impelled to reach their destination the animals fall prey to the many predators that anticipate and line the route, among them the most spectacular being the crocodiles that lie in wait at river crossings. So the more unscrupulous appraisers, dealers and auction houses take advantage of the huge flood of cash into the largely unregulated art market.
     Never has cautious and professional advice seemed more necessary. For further information please contact William Hanbury-Tenison at william@fineartagent.com

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