American Art as an investment alternative
Betty Krulik, Director, Department of American Art
Phillips, dePury and Luxembourg

Phillips, de Pury and Luxembourg is different from most auction houses. We are a small team of committed experts with a deep passion and love of our respective fields. We are committed to our clients on both the selling side; working together to get the best possible results, as well as, on the buyer’s side: to service and help our collectors build the best collections possible. Contrary to other auction rooms, each department curates small, well edited sales of high quality works. Our catalogues include a great deal of scholarship, more akin to museum exhibitions than the previously accepted standard for auctions. Our departments include Jewelry, Watches, Contemporary Art, German Modern Art, Swiss Art, Photography, 20th and 21st Century design, and American Art. It is in the field of American Art that we have a great degree of growth potential, where quality works are still available, even as "supply" is getting increasingly tighter.

It is rumored that Microsoft Billionaire Bill Gates purchased the exoteric Impressionist work by Childe Hassam entitled Room Full of Flowers for at least $10,000,000. This was a painting that was sold at auction less than ten years before, for what was then a record price of $5,500,000., (during the art market slump of the early 1990s.). Up to that point the highest price to have been achieved for a Hassam in the public marketplace was $3,200,000.

Only three American artists have broken that barrier in both the public AND the private markets. Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, and oddly enough George Bellows. (Winslow Homer, the last major seascape, rumored to have sold for $30,000,000.; John Singer Sargent, Cashmere, $11,112,500. George Bellows, The Polo Crowd, $27,702,500.) While these prices still seem modest compared to other high profile collecting categories, like French Impressionism and Modern masters, these case illustrate how the market for American Art has leap forward.

American Art is affordable!! The rise has been steady (albeit slow) for the past 25 years. This is not the speculators market, where one can turn a for a quick profit. It is not a market for the status seeker or the social climber. (It is for the lover of art; the lover of social; the lover of American heritage; and the lover of the American landscape.)

The bargains one could have had in the Edith Halpert sale of 1973! Halpert was a highly esteemed dealer, with a great inventory of paintings by artists that were on the cutting edge of Modernism in the 1910’s and 1920’s. If one bought the most expensive painting by each of the "Stieglitz Group" in that sale; an O’Keeffe (for $120,000.),a Dove for ($21,000.), Demuth ($55,000.), Hartley ($11,000.), a Marin for ($47,500.), Weber ($50,000.),that initial investment of $254,500) would be worth at least $14,000,000. today, doubling the returns in the standard equities market.

It was in 1976, the bicentennial year, that the general public began to think about American Art produced before the wars. Some scholars going against the prevailing interest in the French Impressionists were curating exhibitions of American Hudson River school, like Barbara Novak who broke ground with the "American Luminism" in Washington in 1976. A few very savvy, and highly committed collectors sought out American Art in the 1970’s. It was so terribly out of fashion, (especially the Hudson River School artists), yet those intrepid few found the dealers who shared their commitment.

In 1979, attention was turned --for a moment-- to an artist long forgotten, Frederic Edwin Church. When the monumental Icebergs, then recently discovered in a Boys’ School in the English countryside sold at Sotheby’s for $2,200,000. there was a murmur of excitement in the American Art world. It was the first work by an American artist to cross the One Million Dollar mark at auction, and that record held until 1983-4! While French Impressionism, Old Master Paintings and Contemporary Art were consistently breaking the $1,000,000 mark, why was American art lagging behind?

One of the reasons might be that American Art is not yet part of a Global Marketplace. With the exception of the now deceased Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, rarely did an American painting leave our borders. The Baron began collecting in the late 1970’s and bought iconic examples by each artist. He studied, had fabulous advice, traveled to museums to see the best examples (even if they were in storage), and he educated himself in the field. When a great work came before him, he knew it, and would not let it slip away. I presume that the reason American art has not come to global attention is that wonderful exhibitions like Andrew Wilton’s America Sublime, organized at the Tate- London in 2002, have not traveled extensively in the internation museum circuit, so that the best of American Art is still in-houe and one of the art market’s best kept secrets. Few American artists had ever caught the attention of the Japanese market, with the exception of only Andrew Wyeth and native son Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Strong battles were waged for these two artists in 1988 and 1989 between well heeled American collectors and the then deep pockets of the Japanese. If and when the market broadens to include the international collector we can count on an explosion in American Art prices, not the least of which - buoying prices with an influx of money from the collector used to spending huge amounts on French Impressionist art.

As the masterpieces by top tier American artists get ever rarer, the prices rise for the artists closely associated with top masters, and the subsequent generation of artists. If history teaches us, as it always does, the market will continue to grow, and the fine quality works purchased today will become more valuable. While the prices for American artists are surging, due to well-deserved national pride, there is little chance of a drop in a market that has plodded steadily along for 30 years.

In the successful May 21, 2002 American Art sale at Phillips, de Pury and Luxembourg, the average price per lot was $184,000. (with the top price at approximately $1,000,000.). It is, therefore, possible to build a magnificent quality collection of American Art for the price of just one Impressionist or Modern painting.

To start collecting, first you must educate yourself. Decide what you like by going to museums, then research the artists that pique your interest, and seek out the museums, galleries and auctions that handle the artist. Buy the best of the artist, even if it is a bit of a stretch, as the best will ALWAYS be the best, therefore achieving the higher prices if and when you must sell. The internet as a great source of information it is easy to find out about American Art on sites like, Askart.com, Artprice.com and Artnet.com. Condition is very important in making your purchase decisions, make sure the work is in good shape, ask questions seek the opinion of a reputable restorer. Have advisors, that you trust: a consultant, restorers, museum curators; all of whom are happy to help in your quest for the best.

Masterpieces change hands sometimes from collector to collector, with little commission to an intermediary. Most often however, the art-world centers around the auction rooms (the public marketplace) and the galleries, private dealers, and art consultants (the private market). It is the savvy collector who will strive for the overview of the market, learning from each professional before diving in.

The potential to achieve a profit on your "investment" is assured if one is not impatient. Art and Auction’s December issue charts the growth of the Hudson River School at 35% in the past five years, and growth in Modernist paintings at 24%, while American Impressionism is down just 6% (a far cry from the stock market plummet). But the investment is much more than "money in the bank"; it is the enhancement of your home and heart, and that cannot be underestimated.

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