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Sarah Bradley of Artnet.com, which has an online fine art auction site, Artnetauctions.com, attributes the phenomenon to the new popularity of online auctions. “Galleries and collectors are feeling more comfortable displaying, selling and purchasing expensive pieces of art online now that services like ours exist,” she said, referring to the growth of people using online galleries in lieu of renting costly gallery space. Artnet.com gives art collectors confidence by providing detailed lot descriptions, condition reports, and comparable works from Artnet.com’s Fine Art Price Database.
“We just auctioned off a $96,500 Warhol Michael Jackson piece to an international buyer,” said Bradley. “We are very pleased with the increase we have seen in high-end sales and growth in international buyers. It’s the global buying and selling that I believe is why the art moving and storage industries have been busy during a relatively slow economy.”
Since Artnetauctions.com’s clientèle consists of thousands of registered buyers from 91 countries, shipping and handling of art has become a necessity. “For smaller or lighter pieces, our clients often use UPS or FedEx, but for the larger, fragile pieces, many of our clients prefer to engage the services of a professional mover,” said Bradley.
Freelance artists also need to store the art they produce in temperature-controlled art storage, especially now that online art galleries and social networks such as DeviantArt.com have become commonplace. “I don't always have my work up in an art gallery,” said Sarabeth Goldstein, a freelance artist living in New York City. “I have a lot of my art posted on the web—so I need to put the physical pieces into storage until they're purchased.”
In addition to these examples of the surge in art moving and storage, the struggling economy is a clear contributor to this trend. Many companies are moving to smaller quarters, and that includes museums and galleries. So when museums and galleries need moving and packing, they may also need storage. This has been a significant recent development. “New York museums and galleries that we have been in talks with for years about providing services to are now coming to us with requests for moving and storage of their art,” said Jay Crystall, of Mana Fine Arts.
The art handling industry is a very involved one - meaning, if a client needs one service, they're likely to need another. If a gallery is looking to downsize into storage, they would need art moving. If they need art moving, they will also likely need packing services (with bubble-wrap, crates etc. as well).
In general, the art moving industry has been on the rise due to the globalization of art commerce, the popularity of online auctions, and the need of companies to downsize during the tough economy. Companies in the art moving and storage industry are hoping to maintain this trend by fostering long-lasting relationships with the museums and galleries they are serving now.
Written by by Micha Lang of Mana Fine Arts.
Posted October 13th, 2009 by Armen Hareyan
