Brush with riches short-lived as prices tumble

Andrew Taylor

“…Art consultant David Hulme confirmed the prices fetched at auction by these artists [David Bromley, Robert Dickerson, Pro Hart, David Boyd] had declined sharply. ‘Their prices have dropped by 50 percent over the highs of 2007-08 and just seem to keep dropping,’ he said.

Hulme said all four artists were traditionally favoured by new colletors and dealers in the secondary art market who then resell them to their clients. ‘Some artists who have traditionally been very successful and in demand in the auction room have suffered more severe declines than their contemporaries,’ he said.

… But not all Australian artists are on the nose with buyers. The average purchase price of paintings by Dale Frank and Archibald Prize winner Ben Quilty has doubled, although these figures are based on only a few works sold. The average price paid for paintings by Sidney Nolan has risen slightly.

Hulme said a change in taste towards buying one large signature artwork rather than many smaller pieces might explain the dramatic price changes.

Read the whole article in the Sydney Morning Herald.