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art auctions


jackiedanny

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I went for the free drinks and got caught up in the frenzy of the bidding. I have 2 wonderful paintings but they weren't that cheap ( it was my first time at a art auction ) and it cost a fortune to have them shipped home. all of this was my own fault of course, but just be careful and have a lot of will-power not to raise that hand ;)

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I've never been to one, do they serve any food/drinks? Might be a "fun" way to spend an afternoon.

Take your own drink & go for the entertainment :D

 

It is amazing to see what people will pay for some of the stuff ;)

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Have been known to occasionally attend an art auction or two. Never purchased any artwork but have won artwork at the auction drawing . Free champagne is served so I go to offset my bar bill. I sit in the back with the others who are just there for the free champagne as we make a game of who is going to bid or not bid. Nice to do on a raining sea day.

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Take your own drink & go for the entertainment :D

 

It is amazing to see what people will pay for some of the stuff ;)

 

That's what I was thinking. I was never seriously thinking of going to actually buy anything...I was thinking of the shear entertainment value. Just wanted to check to see if it would be as entertaining as I envision (read laughing at a bidding war over a velvet painting..hehe). I buy my "art" at Kirkland's when it's on sale and I have a coupon. LOL

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If you want to learn about art and appreciate it, art auctions can be a fun learning experience. Yes I have bought some art of cruises. I did some research before on who the art dealer was and what was on offer. Comparing land art gallery prices, prices on the ship is actually cheaper. Yes over the years, I have bought a few.

Yes they are mostly numbered limited edition prints, but hey, who can afford an original Max or Brito or LeKinff or Marcus Glen. :D

Art auction aren't for everyone, but can be a fun afternoon activity.

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If you want to learn about art and appreciate it, art auctions can be a fun learning experience. Yes I have bought some art of cruises. I did some research before on who the art dealer was and what was on offer. Comparing land art gallery prices, prices on the ship is actually cheaper. Yes over the years, I have bought a few.

Yes they are mostly numbered limited edition prints, but hey, who can afford an original Max or Brito or LeKinff or Marcus Glen. :D

Art auction aren't for everyone, but can be a fun afternoon activity.

 

We totally agree with you! We've bought some nice pieces... and I will say we splurged on one cruise and did buy two originals! The last minute savings we got on the cruise we more than made up for (many times) on those originals. But we love them! I have to admit, one thing people may not think about is getting their art appraised when they get it for insurance purposes.

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most of the art is not original and some of the originals are on unstretched canvas. The dealers are not forthcoming about details such as provenance, framing costs, etc, and zero to minimally informed about art history, conservation, curatorial studies and the like.

 

Folks, true works by Rembrandt, Picasso, etc. will NOT be sitting in areas where light, temperature and humidity are not scrupulously controlled 24/7 nor will valuable prints be stored in plastic sleeves where moisture can build up and ruin the contents.

 

Google "cruise ship art auctions" to see about the fraud associated with the auction companies.

 

If you want to know more about art, take some college or museum courses, read on the subject, take the art tours at your local art museum, visit local artists' studios, go on your city's art walks, etc. With the information you will gain, you can be an informed art consumer who knows that cruise ship art at best is not an investment and at worst is almost always a scheme to take money away from uninformed consumers.

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You might want to start your education by simply googling "cruise art auction scams." Suffice it to say that the cruise lines do not allocate lots of valuable onboard space and crew support to an activity that benefits passengers :)

 

Hank

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To each his/her own. I have attended auctions for the entertainment value. Never was in the least bit inclined to purchase.

 

I will say that I didn't see any piece auctioned off in the 2 sessions that I attended last year. Sold pieces, yes; auctioned, no.

 

Registered bidders were given Post-it note tags with their bidder number on it to place on the frame of any piece they wanted to bid on. One of the staff would then talk to the prospective bidder and they would agree on a starting bid for the piece. When the piece came up for auction the auctioneer would say something like "Bidder number 357 has started the bid at $xxx. Would anyone like to take it away? No?" SMACK! The gavel comes down and the piece is sold at the agreed price. Never a competing bid.

 

Now there were a few pieces that received bids. They were higher priced items. The auctioneer would talk of the value of the piece and talk about the fact that the auction house has established minimum amounts that they can take for each painting. Then he would roll in to "Who would take this Peter Max for $500?" Sure someone would pay that so a hand goes up. Then, "How about $600?" and another hand. The excitement grows until it gets in to the thousands. When the bidding stops it's "Oh. Too bad. The minimum we can accept for this is $xxxx" which of course is much higher than anyone wants to pay.

 

So, go for the fun and a nice glass of Dubious Sparkling '13. If you see something that you like go ahead and buy it, hang it at home and remember the fun you had on the cruise.

 

JMHO

 

Charlie

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To each his/her own. I have attended auctions for the entertainment value. Never was in the least bit inclined to purchase.

 

I will say that I didn't see any piece auctioned off in the 2 sessions that I attended last year. Sold pieces, yes; auctioned, no.

 

Registered bidders were given Post-it note tags with their bidder number on it to place on the frame of any piece they wanted to bid on. One of the staff would then talk to the prospective bidder and they would agree on a starting bid for the piece. When the piece came up for auction the auctioneer would say something like "Bidder number 357 has started the bid at $xxx. Would anyone like to take it away? No?" SMACK! The gavel comes down and the piece is sold at the agreed price. Never a competing bid.

 

Now there were a few pieces that received bids. They were higher priced items. The auctioneer would talk of the value of the piece and talk about the fact that the auction house has established minimum amounts that they can take for each painting. Then he would roll in to "Who would take this Peter Max for $500?" Sure someone would pay that so a hand goes up. Then, "How about $600?" and another hand. The excitement grows until it gets in to the thousands. When the bidding stops it's "Oh. Too bad. The minimum we can accept for this is $xxxx" which of course is much higher than anyone wants to pay.

 

So, go for the fun and a nice glass of Dubious Sparkling '13. If you see something that you like go ahead and buy it, hang it at home and remember the fun you had on the cruise.

 

JMHO

 

Charlie

 

I have attended non-art auctions where a regular customer of the autctioneer has put in a silent bid for an item up to a specified amount and if none of the live bids exceed that then it goes to the silent bidder. I have also attended non-art auctions where a reserve has been established for certain items and if the bidding doesn't exceed the reserve then the item is not sold (and most times the reserve is not disclosed to the bidders). (The auctioneer always announces that there is a silent bid or a reserve before bidding commences.)

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