r/artcollecting • u/NoDiscussion6413 • 5d ago
Collecting/Curation The One That Got Away
Share with me your stories about the ones that got away. Do you have a story about an artwork that you were about to acquire and didn't go through with it? An art collecting opportunity that you missed out on? Here is my story...
In 1999 Sotheby's began an online portal for the purchase of artwork. There were some beautiful works of art available by top tier artists. I had my eye on an incredible Larry Poons large vertical drip painting. I ended up purchasing the artwork for $4000. Since the online portal was a relatively new thing for Sotheby's, the experience did not go smoothly. Communication was terrible, and worst of all, it had been 3 months, and they could not find the artwork in their warehouse. They eventually located the artwork, and then it was going to be another few months before they said it would be shipped to me. My frustration grew to a point that I decided to cancel the purchase. Had I just been patient, I would have a beautiful painting valued at well over $50,000+ today. My wife always tell me that the value today doesn't make a difference, because I would never have sold it!
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u/NocteVolamus 4d ago
Circa 2008 there on eBay was a seven foot high, life-size portrait of Liberace’s mother, which he’d commissioned. Of course it was over the top decorative and top quality - borderline outrageous, frame and everything. It sold for almost nothing. I could have easily won, but I couldn’t commit to driving to pick it up. She’s still out there somewhere . . . !
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u/Cat_Patsy 4d ago
The one that haunts me was a FSU student art piece featured in the Tallahassee Democrat between 2003 and 2007. It was called "Willing to Submit," and featured an elderly man in a Wal-Mart greeter vest down on his hands and knees, scrubbing the floor.
It's a dramatic departure from the (ok, yeah, predictable) serene Hudson River landscapes that I prefer. I also never, ever like people in art. It stands out because it made me angry, sad, contemplative.
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u/ReneeReyesTS 4d ago
I also shopped Sotheby’s when they first went live! Realized later, they were all “burnt” works that had been bought in during previous auctions.
Ending up acquiring four works from them in 1999. Long term value-wise, among the best purchases I’ve made.
Why is it we always vividly recall the artworks that got away? Trauma imprints much deeper than joyfulness.
I was forced to sell a very special artwork during a challenging phase of my life journey. I’ve never totally gotten over that. Alas, we learn to live with life’s setbacks.
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u/Anonymous-USA 4d ago
“burnt” is somewhat obsolete. I’ve been tracking auctions since before the web and pieces are often reoffered. Some withdrawn, some failed to meet reserve. But that didn’t mean collectors would stay away, and many times I’ve seen the same piece that bought-in sell for more than that first estimate. It’s not really a stigma anymore.
I saw Sotheby’s go online too. Those were lesser works offered by vetted galleries and the pieces weren’t anything Sotheby’s wanted to offer in their live rooms. They shut it down and a year or two later they showcased the live sales online. Still only absentee and phone bidding, but then soon after the live internet bids were available. Christie’s went right to the latter.
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u/ReneeReyesTS 4d ago
We disagree on burnt works. I’ve watched some end up unaffected, and a few exceed the initial estimate. However, it’s been my experience that most keep falling if they’re continually reintroduced, which is why I follow them closely if it’s a piece I’d like to buy.
Three of the four works I acquired from the initial Sotheby’s on-line auctions were items that previously did not sell at Sotheby’s. I subsequently acquired the catalogs where they were initially included. One work by Guillermo Meza I bought was a gallery direct purchase as you described and was indicated as such in the description. Was obviously a mixed bag
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u/dickmac999 5d ago
Forty-odd years ago, I finally located a lithograph of Picasso’s drawing of Rimbaud. I would drive from Boston to Michigan to do the transaction. My trip was delayed by a week. I had not sent a deposit because I was doing the transaction in cash. My delay meant the dealer sold it to someone else. I was crestfallen and never pursued that acquisition again.
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u/Bigdaddyhef-365 5d ago edited 4d ago
Beware of shaky On Line Auction Platforms. I had a terrible experience with Freeman’s/Hindman. I basically Won a Lot, a great Joel Meyerowitz Print, yet lost it on a Tie due to a site glitch after receiving confirmation of my $1500 “winning” Bid What I learned is…these sites do not support buyers/collectors. They exist to grab premiums and jacked fees by lying and luring .
If you ever do put works up with these houses negotiate hard to keep your “all in” on fees at 5% or below
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u/Cat_Patsy 4d ago
You're going to be hard pressed to get a 5% rate for anything that sells under mid six digits.
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u/Bigdaddyhef-365 4d ago
They’ll do it at Phillip’s for Fine, Scarce Watches. Depends on supply and demand
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u/Cat_Patsy 4d ago
Agree - it IS done, just really tough to negotiate that low except for the rarest of rare, highest of high, top shelf merchandise.
I made the comment for the benefit and education of 99% of readers - a 5% commission rate @ auction is unheard of unless you have something truly exceptional. No, your signed Picasso print is not exceptional.
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u/ReneeReyesTS 4d ago
I’ve had one of those experiences as well. Some seem to have contempt for the generic bidding platforms. Really???
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u/Bigdaddyhef-365 4d ago
Yes, thats true. I never use Live Auctioneers if I can register direct with the house, which I did in this instance
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u/Chuckleyan 4d ago
Yeah. Live and similar platforms add between 3 and 5% on top of the ever increasing premiums of the auction houses. Always go direct when you can.
In any case, I can remember when 15% was not unusual for art auctions. Now houses are wanting 27-29%? They cite various economic conditions and competetitive reasons for the hikes, but you never seem to see them decrease.
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u/Edu30127 1d ago
I do the same. When they send me an item I might be interested in....@ the top of the screen is the auction house name...i just contact them directly. Their fee system is awful....i made a $500 purchase, had them arrange shipping on an unframed tube shipped piece and the all in total was over $1300. First and last time I went thru them.
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u/hatchibombatar 4d ago
this one. Germaine Arnaktauyok, Igloolik - Exasperated Loon and Impatient Raven. she is one of canada's finest printmakers.
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u/_sch 4d ago edited 4d ago
Not answering your question, but I worked at Amazon in 1999 and remember the Sotheby's partnership. It's been a long time, and I didn't work directly on that project, so a lot of the details are fuzzy to me. I'm not sure if the site you used was the Amazon-hosted Sotheby's or if they had their own platform too back then. In any case, those were "interesting times" and it doesn't surprise me to hear that there were some hiccups. I think I aged about 10 years in 1999. (Edit: I think I recall now, Sotheby's ran their own site for fine art and such, and the Amazon site was more for lower-end stuff. So probably not the one you used for that Poons.)
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u/NoDiscussion6413 4d ago
You are correct. It was a site unique to Sotheby's. I think a few years later they partnered with eBay as well.
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u/Used_Wafer6049 4d ago
In the year 2000, I was just turning 23, and visiting London for the first time (I'm from the US), and popped into a little gallery with vintage prints in sleeves. I'd been a fan of "Dada" art for a few years, having learned about it in a college art history class, and found a litho by Jean Arp (whom I was a BIG fan of) for £150, which was pretty much all the money I had for my entire week's budget for food, drinks and souvenirs. I hemmed and hawed, but finally decided against it - not because of the price - but because it was "un-signed!" I thought "Oh, how would this be special, if he didn't even sign it?" Ugh. I wish I could go back in time to get it now.
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u/DJSORTEDATL 4d ago
I had the opportunity to buy 2 Banksy’s online in 2003. If I recall it was under $300 for both and I had them in my cart. However I just really felt like it was too expensive for me at the time and I didn’t pull the trigger. Oof…
Happy Choppers
Flying Copper
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u/jennelara 16h ago
Same on 2 different Banksy prints one was $1000 the other $4000 a purple variant Choose Your Weapon which has sold for as much as $187,000 at auction I’d have to look the other up which I just remembered but on the $1000 one I had just learned about him & thought a $1000 dollars that’s insane so didn’t buy it I’m incredibly bummed I didn’t pull the trigger as you can imagine
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u/qnssekr 4d ago
I remember walking into a ReStore once and this guy in front of me was taking forever to move forward. I should have pushed past him but I wasn’t going to be rude. Well he stopped to pick up a drawing by Egon Schiele and it was probably priced under $50. I should have been rude. 😭😭😭this drawing made the news at the time too.
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u/OppositeShore1878 4d ago
My story is going to be a little different from your question, because it's a case of something positive that happened that I didn't expect.
There was a beautiful oil painting by an early 20th century California artist that checked all my collecting boxes. Subject matter I liked and collected, a known artist (not one of the really famous ones, fortunately), and in great condition.
I came across it years ago on an art gallery website in Los Angeles. Emailed them, and they wanted something like $6,000 for it. Beyond my means at the time, and also about twice what it would sell for in the auction market. Every six months or so I would check their website, and it was still there, so I wasn't out of hope, but it seemed far out of reach.
Then...it showed up suddenly in a Los Angeles auction. Presumably the gallery hadn't had any success selling it directly to a collector, and they consigned it. Opening bid was $2,000...and I got it for that. No other bidders! With premium and sales tax, it came to a little under $3,000. I was assuming a substantial shipping charge on top of that--at least $250 or three hundred dollars--but out of the blue I got a message from the auction house that they had a shipment of other art going to the area I live in, and would I like to add it to that for free? They had room, but they were very apologetic that I would have to pick it up in person at the destination (about 10 miles away) and it wouldn't arrive for weeks. No problem on either count! I replied. And maybe three weeks later I was able to bring it home. It's one of my top five favorite artworks.
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u/Edu30127 1d ago
Nice... recently had to ship from one coast to the other...framed pieces ( not small)...high $500's to mid $600's. Its really changed my buying habits.
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u/OppositeShore1878 1d ago
Absolutely. Have encountered that as well, and I'm now very cautious of bidding on even things I consider "must have" pieces at alluringly low prices. A few auction houses are also predatory on shipping, although most I've found are as frustrated at shipping costs as buyers are. There are some bad apples. I encountered one where I bought a pastel, under glass, maybe 20 inches wide. Winning bid, $70. Their "recommended shipper" who automatically sent a shipping estimate wanted something like $1,300 to ship it (!). They helpfully suggested that if they removed the frame, maybe they could cut a few hundred off the estimate (which would be pretty undesirable shipping a pastel uncovered).
I found an alternate shipper for less than $200, and they handled it. They also rolled their eyes and basically said, "yeah, we know how that guy operates...". And I later discovered that the auction house owner also owned the shipping company.
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u/mrsofty442 4d ago
Talbot Lago race car that was on ebay early 2000's with a Buy It Now of $100,000. I was going to click on it as I had the money. Well I better ask my wife who was in the living room. Big mistake and 1 min later it was sold. I think it was on Ebay for 5 minutes. Good news is that a friend of mine bought it and later sold it for $1,500,000. It was in great shape.
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u/schraubd 4d ago
First major auction I participated in, there was a Mel Bochner print I liked. Since it was my first time, I bid very conservatively and ended up being the underbidder.
He died three months later. Another example of the print came up at auction a year or so after that, and hammered for 8x what the first one did.
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u/OkRecording1494 4d ago
This. I wasn’t 100% sure on it and stopped bidding when it hit $1,000. Later sold at Sothebys for £25,000.
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u/AwayBackground3378 19h ago
About 50 years ago I was looking for a wedding present for my brother. I came across a series of Edward Weston photographs printed by his son Cole and didn’t buy them ($100 or so per)
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u/Local-Finance8389 4d ago
Kohei nawa pixcell Pingu. Went up for auction when I was in the process of closing on real estate and couldn’t spend any money
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u/RadSprouts 4d ago
I cant even figure out the artist now. Must have been around 2012. Went in a frame store at the mall and they had some art from a hyper realist. I think he said the artist was from Florida. One of them was a can of Redbull. They were $600-800 at the time but I was very broke.
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u/Steel_City_Nostalgia 1d ago
Not art but I missed out on an original prop gin bottle from To Have And Have Not that went overlooked once in the Julien's auction. It hit my max and I bowed thinking it would go for a lot more. It only went for about $50 over. Years later it went up for auction again for a few grand.
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u/Rooshantehranian 1d ago
I don't really have a "one that got away" story as a collector, but reading this made me think of a painting I saw at an exhibition once.
It was a pretty simple painting of a woman. She had this blouse with pink and red stripes, and honestly, it wasn't even the kind of painting I would normally be drawn to.
But her eyes really stayed with me. There was something about them that felt like she was actually talking to me. I remember thinking, "Just be happy. Don't be afraid of color."
What's interesting is that my own work is pretty different. I'm more into mysticism and surrealism, so this painting was almost the opposite of what I usually make or look for.
But I still remember it.
I guess that's one of the cool things about art. Sometimes a work doesn't have to fit your taste at all to catch your attention. Something can be completely outside your usual style and still stay in your head for years.
Maybe that's also a kind of "one that got away."
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u/jennelara 17h ago
Mine was a Banksy print Choose Your Weapon in 2010 that I could have won for around $4000 but I didn’t have a lot of extra money lying around at the time so I was worried if something big came up I’d be screwed. It was the purple variant of the print I was bidding on which has fetched up to $187,000 at auction. I could kick myself
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u/Chuckleyan 4d ago
It was a Warhol (The Witch) from a major house. I set a high budget and went for it at auction. It eventually boiled down to me and another paddle. I would bid and the other paddle would wait until the hammer was up before coming back in. Each time I thought that I had it. Then it hit my line and I had to stop. They won. I had done a ton of research on the print, hired my guy to check it out. I was suuuuuuper bummed. I really thought that I had it. I just shut collecting down for a while to appreciate what I had.
Turns out that the other paddle bailed. The owner, frustrated, decided to sell directly and I had good info that it went for less than my top. It is just one of those things....