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20 West 55th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10019
(212) 355-5710
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CELEBRATING COTAM's 24TH YEAR!: | |
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On January 1, 2001, we launched the inaugural edition of Comments on the Art Market, comprised of just seven paragraphs totaling 492 words—a fraction of the length of the articles featured in our current editions. For the first 12 years, Howard authored all the content. By 2013, Amy, Lance, and Alyssa joined in, injecting their unique perspectives and enabling a broader coverage of topics. Then, in September 2021, the dynamics took an exciting turn with the addition of Nathan Scheer, our nephew, who is deeply passionate about writing and research. Over the past few years, Nathan has assumed the primary role in crafting the majority of our articles.
We've received numerous compliments on the thoroughness of Nathan's research, conveyed through emails and personal interactions. In fact, several prominent figures in the art world have expressed their gratitude to him for the quality and accuracy of his articles.
Looking ahead, we hope that our audience will not only continue to enjoy our monthly updates but also gain insights into the intricacies of the art market. Our entire family extends warm wishes to our fans and readers for a happy, successful, and peaceful New Year.
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Thank you for your continued support! Your passion for the artists and art we offer has truly enriched our gallery's journey, and we are excited to share even more with you.
Comments on the Art Market (Monthly Edition):
Educating our readers about the intricacies of the art world. We love delving into the latest trends, market shifts, crime, punishment, and noteworthy developments.
Weekly Art Update (Every Saturday):
For those of you who eagerly anticipate our weekly updates, we sincerely appreciate your enthusiasm! Our Saturday emails bring you firsthand updates on new acquisitions, upcoming exhibitions, exclusive events, and the latest from our blog. It's a weekly rendezvous we look forward to sharing with you.
Missing Out on Weekly Updates?
If you find that you haven't been receiving our weekly updates and would like to stay seamlessly connected with all things art-related, we've got you covered! Simply let us know by using the link below, and we'll ensure you're added to our weekly mailing list.
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UPCOMING ART FAIR: Art Palm Beach | |
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We are pleased to announce that Rehs Contemporary Galleries will be exhibiting at the second edition of Art Palm Beach, which will run from January 24 – 28, 2024. We will be showcasing works by many of our contemporary artists including Ben Bauer, Julie Bell, Stefano Bolcato, Jon Burns, Todd Casey, Gail Descoeurs, Stuart Dunkel, Hammond, Lucia Heffernan, James Hollingsworth, Timothy Jahn, Alexandra Klimas, Shana Levenson, David Palumbo, Tony South, June Stratton, Mitsuru Watanabe, Anne-Marie Zanetti, and more.
If you are interested in attending, please let us know as soon as possible since we only receive a limited number of complimentary tickets. Be sure to note your preference - Opening Night or General Admission, and the number of tickets. Availability is on a first come first served basis.
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Here is another painting from John Stobart's personal collection | |
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Frank Ernest Beresford
(1881 - 1967)
Miyajima
Oil on panel
9.625 x 13.925 inches
Signed
AVAILABLE
Miyajima, officially known as Itsukushima, is a small island located in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan, famous for its iconic "floating" torii gate and the Itsukushima Shrine. The history of Miyajima dates back centuries, with the construction of the shrine believed to have begun in the 6th century. The island has long been considered a sacred site, and the unique design of the shrine reflects the harmony between humans and nature. The torii gate, standing in the water during high tide, is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan. Throughout its history, Miyajima has been a destination for pilgrims and tourists alike, attracting visitors with its scenic beauty and cultural significance. Despite facing natural disasters and wars over the centuries, the island has retained its spiritual charm, making it a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a cherished destination for those seeking a glimpse into Japan's rich cultural and religious heritage.
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With 2023 [nearly] in the rearview, it’s time to take a look at how the stock market performed over the past 12 months. It was a pretty wild year, to say the least… seriously, in retrospect, I think the most accurate word would be “shitshow.” It’s probably hard to remember everything, but just to recap: This year the world experienced some of the most devastating natural disasters, including the deadliest earthquake in more than a century. Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, nearly setting off a chain reaction of bank failures across the US. There were more than 400 workers’ strikes nationally, with more than half a million workers participating – that’s up nearly 3 fold from last year, and included major groups like Hollywood’s actors and writers (SAG-AFTRA) and The United Auto Workers. July set a new high for the hottest average global temperature on record, just as Hawaii dealt with the most catastrophic wildfire it has ever seen. The Middle East spiraled to the brink of WWIII, and Artificial Intelligence is getting ready to upend nearly every aspect of our lives… and that’s not even mentioning the oddities of a Chinese Spy Balloon or the Titanic Submersible. Oh, and inflation, duh. Seriously, 2023 was an unusual one.
With that in mind, it's rather surprising that all three major US indexes brushed off the madness to close out the year with strong gains… in fact, over the past two months, we’ve seen an incredible rally to test record-high numbers. Back at the end of 2021, the NASDAQ breached the $16K mark; however, by the start of 2023, it had given up more than 30% of its value. With that, the NASDAQ currently sits just above $15K – so while not a fresh high, that is still good for a mind-blowing 44% gain on the year! The S&P is on the brink… it is just a few points shy of the record set in January of 2022, but it will likely surpass that in the coming days; either way, it achieved a gain of roughly 24%. The Dow kept punching through the roof… this December, the index logged five consecutive days of new highs, and closed out the year at that level; it yielded the lowest return of the bunch with a modest 14% gain. When you take a deeper look, it becomes apparent that US Stocks were heavily buoyed by a small group of tech stocks that performed insanely well – they’ve become known as the Magnificent Seven, which includes Apple, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. That group alone accounted for 60% of the S&P’s gain this year!
When it comes to currencies and commodities, it was a mixed bag. Both the Pound and Euro strengthened relative to the Dollar, roughly 5% each – the Pound is currently trading around $1.27, while the Euro is in the $1.10 ballpark. Gold futures notched a new high a few weeks ago and are still hovering in that $2,100 neighborhood. Conversely, crude started the year off with a nice rally but fizzled quickly and faded… as of the end of the year, oil futures were trading nearly 30% lower than where they started.
And last but not least, the crypto kids are here to make you cry a little… even with all the uncertainty and volatility, Bitcoin turned in a staggering 152% gain for 2023 – hope you were all HODL! Ethereum was up there too… it nearly doubled, notching a gain of more than 90%. Litecoin was the odd man out with a paltry 11% return for the year.
In the end, all my whining about inflation concerns was for nothing… everyone who behaved rationally and took a conservative approach in a tumultuous year came out a loser. Truly hoping you didn’t listen to me and play it safe; and if you did, I have to ask… why the heck are you taking my financial advice? I work at an art gallery.
Wishing everyone a happy and successful 2024!
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We wish to thank everyone who took the opportunity to purchase items for our gift shop during 2023. It was our first full year, and all the artists whose works are featured greatly appreciate your continued support.
This past month, several t-shirts featuring works by Stuart Dunkel and mugs featuring images of paintings by Ben Bauer were added to the site.
Happy Shopping!
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A painting created and signed by all four members of the Beatles will be up for sale at Christie’s this February. In 1966, Beatlemania was at its height. The group had been touring nonstop for several years, traversing the globe from Britain to the United States to Japan. During their stay in Tokyo, they spent much of their time in the presidential suite at the Tokyo Hilton. Police advised that the Beatles stay at their hotel as much as possible since there were serious safety concerns due to some Japanese people’s response to the band playing shows in the country.... READ MORE
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In Portland, Oregon, a local shelter experienced an unexpected windfall earlier this year: a pair of striking gold Nike sneakers surfaced in their donation pile. These weren’t just any sneakers but the Air Jordan 3s, size 12 1/2, custom-made for the renowned filmmaker Spike Lee.
An anonymous donor left these remarkable kicks at the Portland Rescue Mission in the spring. While sorting through donations, a sharp-eyed... READ MORE
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TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE: | |
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The Bouvier affair has been one of the most prolific feuds the art world has experienced in the past ten years. We’ve been covering it since it first started in 2015. And now it seems like it’s finally coming to an end… sort of.
To sum up, the Russian oligarch Dimitri Rybolovlev, who made his fortune primarily in the fertilizer business, amassed one of the finest art collections in the world with the help of a Swiss businessman named Yves Bouvier. Between 2003 and 2014... READ MORE
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I’ve left stuff in taxis before. So have a lot of people I know, from wallets to umbrellas to phones. But I think if I were in a cab with a million-dollar painting, I wouldn’t let it out of my sight. But one Miami rideshare driver has recently returned one such painting after driving off with it still in their trunk.
On December 3rd, Rodrigo Salomon curated a booth at Art Miami for Dmitri Shchukin, managing director of Gallery Shchukin.... READ MORE
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A Canadian court has sentenced the main perpetrator of one of the largest art fraud conspiracies. Back in March, I wrote about how police in Ontario had arrested a group of people for creating and selling thousands of artworks being passed off as originals by the Canadian indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau. Morrisseau is recognized today as one of Canada’s greatest artists, putting indigenous art on the map. Even before he died in 2007, he was concerned about forgeries of his work on the market. This... READ MORE
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Thursday, December 7th, saw a wave of action across the London and Paris auction houses. Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams all hosted sales ranging from antiquities to Old Masters to early twentieth-century work. It also marked the last day at the podium for Christie’s global president and auctioneer, Jussi Pylkkänen, who presided over the London old masters sale. However, the dark spot on Thursday occurred at the Bonhams location in Paris, where the Impressionist & Modern sale occurred. A relatively small sale of fifty-one... READ MORE
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At the end of the auction marathon on Thursday, December 7th, was another installment from the Sam Josefowitz Collection. The sale in London consisted of sixty-nine lots, all “graphic masterpieces” by the Dutch Golden Age artist Rembrandt van Rijn. Every lot was an etching, engraving, or drypoint. The previous Christie’s sales of the Sam Josefowitz collection, the first of which was on October 13th, did phenomenally well. And the Rembrandt prints certainly followed that trend. Saint Jerome reading in an Italian landscape was predicted... READ MORE
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Alan Hartman owned Hartman Rare Art on New York’s Madison Avenue for decades until his passing earlier this year. He was considered an expert in Chinese jade carvings, East Asian antiquities, and English silver. When his widow Simone consigned their collection to Bonhams, many expected such work to feature heavily in the sale. In some ways, they were right, but in other ways, the couple’s modern and impressionist paintings dominated the December 14th evening sale. Of the one-hundred-eleven available lots, only twenty-two... READ MORE
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2023 was another incredible year for the art market. In an interesting turn, Sotheby’s took the top spot this year with $8 billion in sales, around the same as 2022. Christie’s, however, saw a slight decrease, down from last year’s $8.4 billion to about $6.2 billion. Also, Bonhams saw a record year with $1.4 billion, an approximate 14% increase from 2023 and a high in the company’s history... READ MORE
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THE YEAR'S TOP INSTAGRAM REELS | |
Today, it is all about social media, and like any other business, we post on many platforms. Our largest follower base is on Instagram, so we thought you might enjoy seeing 2023's top three posts for our historical and contemporary accounts (the contemporary's #3 is our favorite). | |
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The Mona Lisa is one of the world’s most iconic and enigmatic paintings. Art historians and amateur detectives have combed over the work, looking for answers to everything, from da Vinci’s technique to the possible real location of the fantasy backdrop to the sitter’s identity (which has since been confirmed). It’s been the property of the French state for centuries, so the possibility of it being offered on the market is practically zero. But who knows its value now that a second Mona Lisa might be out and about?... READ MORE
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Often, when I write about a rediscovered long-lost masterwork, the person who had it often had no idea that they owned such a rare, valuable work by a great master. However, when Italian authorities seized a painting from a southern Italian family last week, the owners seemed to know exactly what it was: a €100 million Botticelli painting.
Sandro Botticelli’s Madonna & Child is a tempera on panel painting, also sometimes called the Madonna delle Grazie, named after the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie where it was originally kept... READ MORE
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Many famous figures have their own quotes about the power of art and its ability to change people’s minds and the world. However, there are few people whose lives have embodied those kinds of sayings than Diego Rivera. Some people know him as a great Mexican artist, while others simply know him as Frida Kahlo’s husband. But it’s important to understand why and how his work changed people’s lives.
Born in Guanajuato in 1886, Rivera.... READ MORE
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Paris will host the Olympic games next summer, and the city’s top spots, particularly its cultural institutions, are battening down the hatches. The city already announced that the famous riverside booksellers, the bouquinistes, will be relocated for the opening ceremonies. And now, within a few days of each other, both the Louvre and Notre Dame made some big announcements.
For a bit of optimism, the efforts to rebuild and renovate Notre Dame Cathedral only have a year left... READ MORE
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The British Museum has not had the best year. The end of 2023 cannot come fast enough for the museum administration and its supporters. 2023 saw the museum plagued by scandals, the most devastating of which involved a senior staff member accused of stealing thousands of antiquities from museum storerooms. Calls for the restitution of important cultural artifacts to their countries of origin have not only increased but, as a result of the theft, have gained more traction... READ MORE
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Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in. As if the British Museum’s reputation couldn’t get any worse, its leadership made an incredibly controversial decision that led to at least one of its trustees resigning. Earlier in the year, people everywhere, and climate activists in particular, celebrated the news that it seemed like the partnership between the British Museum and the oil and gas giant British Petroleum would be ending. The museum was one of the few remaining British... READ MORE
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With so much that has happened in 2023, it was difficult to pick just ten of the most interesting, most impactful art world moments of the year. But here are my favorites. From big sales and monumental exhibitions to... READ MORE
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Rehs Contemporary Galleries, Inc. | |  |
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