The fall auctions in New York, which start this week, will be especially high-pressure: between Sotheby's and Christie's, an unprecedented 19 artworks will carry eight-figure estimates, among them major works by Cezanne, Gauguin, Klimt, Monet and Picasso.
Before setting foot in any of those hallowed halls, then, potential auctiongoers -- whether seasoned collectors, urban anthropologists or eager newcomers -- would be wise to make a careful study of auction etiquette. To that end, a few tips on how to maximize one's chances while minimizing social blunders, and how to avoid common faux pas, including the most egregious one of all: overpaying.
"Let me put it this way," said Tobias Meyer, worldwide head of contemporary art at Sotheby's. "If I were in the luxurious position of spending a large sum of money on art, I would like to have as much information as possible."
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That means building a rapport with the auction house's specialists, who can provide crucial details about a work's condition, its unpublished reserve price (the lowest price a seller will accept) and what Meyer called "the level of interest in a work": who else is bidding and what they might pay.
"You need to do a lot of homework," said Adam Lindemann, whose book, Collecting Contemporary, includes interviews with many of his fellow collectors.
That homework includes studying an artist's previous sales. In recent years online auction databases like Artnet.com and Artprice.com have vastly increased the amount of available information.
But the art dealer Josh Baer, whose subscription-only newsletter, Baer Faxt, reports on the inner dealings of the art world, is skeptical of this data-driven "illusion of transparency." Database users focus too much on precedent, he says, and ignore other factors, like the condition of that particular piece.
"They think they have so much more information, when in fact they're over-informed but undereducated," he said.
Get a good seat
Auction houses fine-tune their seating charts up to the last minute to accommodate what Joanne Heyler, the chief curator of the Broad Art Foundation, calls the "layering of competition in the room." Some people may want to be seated next to their friends; others -- perhaps a dealer who, as Heyler said, wants "to bid aggressively on an artist they don't represent" -- might request the visibility of the center aisle.
As for the ideal location, "It's not necessarily what someone might think -- `the front row is best, the rear is a disaster,"' Heyler said. "Everyone has a purpose for wanting one part of the room or another."
Some dealers prefer to stand along the wall, for example, to better survey the action; others want to be near an exit so they can duck out for a quick consultation.
Except for the highest-profile evening sales, which require advance registration, auctions are open to the public. But even registering is simple, requiring only an official ID and some basic financial information. (You do know the name and number of your personal banker, don't you?)
When you register, you're given a paddle with a number on it, your only official identification. If you are an instantly recognizable scion of a fourth-generation art-dealing dynasty, you can probably go without; after Guy Wildenstein, the president of Wildenstein & Co, bought a US$4.4 million Bonnard landscape at Sotheby's last November, auction staff members tried in vain to place a paddle in his hands.
Signaling your first bid in a crowded salesroom may require a bold gesture, like a taxi hail, but in general it's best to put the paddle away until you need it. Whether it's frenetic fanning or the stock-still pose known as the Statue of Liberty, overusing the paddle is the easiest way to come off like a neophyte. If you're throwing around that much money, don't worry: the auctioneer will keep his eye on you. A simple nod or hand lift will suffice.
Get to know spotter
To make sure no buyer goes unnoticed, the house employs bid spotters who stand to the side of the rostrum and constantly scan the room. These are very good allies to cultivate.
To collectors who are eager to spend US$60 million but reluctant to be seen doing so -- or who find themselves inconveniently stuck in Gstaad during auction season -- bidding by phone offers discretion and convenience.
"I can't attend all the auctions, so if I'm not there in person, I'll send someone, or we'll bid on the phone," Broad said.
On the other end of the line is an auction house employee, who provides a hushed play-by-play and relays bids to the auctioneer.
In addition to the house's own phone bank, an unofficial phone network forms in the salesroom, with dealers on the line to their own clients.
"That's a masking role that most dealers will do for serious collectors," said one collector in the investment business who does not make his art purchases public.
The dealer Richard Feigen buys work from both old master and modern auctions for his clients, but he views most cellphone bidding as "just order taking."
"They're relying on my advice and my understanding of the market," he said. "If it's just a matter to put my finger up, they don't need me."
The privacy of remote bidding comes at a price; you don't get to read the dynamic of the auction room, and because you have to go through an intermediary, you may not get to move as fast. So some seasoned buyers discuss their bidding strategy and entry point in advance and give the auction house employee a degree of autonomy.
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