Shifting tastes: the market for American art with expert Debra Force of Debra Force Fine Art

AT THE AMERICAN ART AUCTIONS, FINE PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER ARE OFFERED FROM THE COLONIAL TO THE POST-WAR PERIOD, INCLUDING WORKS BY THE HUDSON RIVER SCHOOL, THE AMERICAN IMPRESSIONISTS AND THE ASH CAN SCHOOL. OVER THE PAST DECADE, THE AMERICAN ART DEPARTMENT AT CHRISTIE’S STATES THAT IT HAS SET MORE THAN 100 WORLD RECORDS, ACHIEVING RECORD PRICES FOR IMPORTANT NAMES SUCH AS EDWARD HOPPER, ANDREW WYETH AND GEORGIA O’KEEFFE. HOWEVER, BOTH THE AUCTION HOUSES AND GALLERIES SPECIALIZING IN THIS AREA HAVE SEEN A DOWNTURN IN THIS MARKET.

https://www.christies.com/departments/American-Art-3-1.aspx

ONE OF THE EXCEPTIONS WAS THE CHRISTIE’S SALE OF THE EXTRAORDINARY DAVID AND PEGGY ROCKEFELLER COLLECTION THAT REPRESENTED ONE OF THE BEST SINGLE OWNER COLLECTIONS TO COME TO MARKET. HIGHLIGHTS OF AN AMERICAN ART COLLECTION DESCRIBED AS “VIRTUALLY ENCYCLOPAEDIC” INCLUDED EDWARD HOPPER’S CAPE ANN GRANITE, PAINTED IN THE SUMMER OF 1928 ($8.4m), GEORGIA O’KEEFFE’S NEAR ABIQUIU, NEW MEXICO ($8.4m) and MILTON AVERY’S WOMEN WITH REBOZA ($2.5m). THIS SALE, HOWEVER, WAS AN EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL CLIMATE OF THE AMERICAN MARKET.

WE ARE FORTUNATE TO HAVE DEBRA FORCE, OF DEBRA FORCE FINE ART, A SEASONED EXPERT IN AMERICAN ART OF EVERY PERIOD, PROVIDE HER ANALYSIS OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE MARKET IN AMERICAN ART.

http://www.debraforce.com/

DEBRA, HOW DO YOU VIEW THE AMERICAN MARKET AT THE PRESENT TIME AND HOW HAS IT CHANGED IN THE LAST DECADE?

The traditional American art market is stable.  It had been at its height up to 2008, but became much softer after that date.  As collectors become older, they are no longer buying as much and younger people do not seem to have an interest in this aspect of Fine Art.  Thus, we are dealing with a more limited market base and of course, do not have international interest in this area. 

Prices for many things are much reduced from what they were over ten years ago, particularly for early and historical material, genre painting, Hudson River painting, and Ashcan artists.  However, we are seeing some revitalization with certain artists in these areas as well as with the American Impressionists.  For those looking for this type of material, there are more reasonable prices and, in some cases, bargains to be had.  Museums are finding that they can now buy artists on their wish lists that fall into these categories. 

Joseph Stella
The Red Pitcher
Oil on canvas

American Modernism and Regionalism, as well as works by African-American and women artists, are very hot, while Surrealism and Magic Realism are rising in popularity. Many of the post-war second- and third-tier Abstract Expressionists are also coming under the umbrella of traditional American art as we move more solidly into the 21^st Century.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN ART MARKET? DO YOU FEEL THAT SOME OF THE LESSER KNOWN ARTISTS WHO WERE WILDLY COLLECTED BY THE LAST GENERATION WILL REBOUND IN TERMS OF PRESENCE AND PRICE?

It is my hope that younger people will turn to and revere traditional American art, which suffers somewhat like the American furniture and decorative arts market, as time marches on.  To do so, American history needs to be taught at both secondary and college levels, museums need to exhibit this type of art and not just focus upon what is “sexy” or of the moment, and auction houses and galleries need to embrace it, rather than shying away from it. 

Milton Avery
Woman with Rebozo, 1946
Christie’s sale, David Rockefeller Collection

Much of the material that is less collectible today does not receive adequate recognition in the marketplace and is routinely relegated to lesser sales or online auctions rather than in the mainstream or in prominent sales.  [Certainly, although the provenance had added cache to the works sold at the Rockefeller sale at Christie’s, the overwhelming exposure did wonders to attract buyers to much of the 19^th-century material that sold for double or more what they had been making.]  The validity of the past that has much to teach us in understanding the world today as well as the evolution of Contemporary art, needs to be made apparent to younger generations. 

Georgia O’Keeffe
New Mexico – near Taos 1929
Christie’s sale, David Rockefeller Collection

The other challenge is garnering international interest in American art, as we head toward a more global society.  This is already happening to a degree as the Terra Foundation and others sponsor exhibitions of American art abroad that have been well received to the audiences there; hopefully, this will translate into the market as well. 

As older collectors divest their collections, more major works of art will presumably enter the market and therefore, should generate renewed interest among known buyers as well as attracting new ones.

Presently, buyers are more attracted to well-known artists rather than those less renowned.  Until the market for traditional American art is more buoyant overall, I fear that more minor artists will continue to be neglected.  The only departure from this state is the collectability of lesser Modernist and Post-War artists who are now embraced, as prices for the more blue-chip works from this era are escalating.

DEBRA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE, EXPERTISE AND ANALYSIS OF AMERICAN ART.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG, I AM HONORED TO INTRODUCE WENDY CROMWELL, WHO SERVES ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL ART ADVISORS (APAA), AN OUTSTANDING NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION MADE UP OF LEADING ART ADVISORS, CURATORS AND CORPORATE ART MANAGERS. APAA IS DEDICATED TO ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING THE HIGHEST PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR ACQUIRING, MAINTAINING AND SELLING ART.

PLEASE JOIN US!

 

The art of relationships: art fairs, appraisal services, museum curators at Debra Force Fine Art

Debra Force
Art League Presents
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

DEVELOPING A DIALOGUE WITH MUSEUM CURATORS AND MUSEUM BOARDS AND PLACING WORKS IN INSTITUTIONAL VENUES IS ONE OF THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF GALLERIES.  IT REPRESENTS AN INVESTMENT OF TIME AND SCHOLARSHIP AS WELL AS ONE OF NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS. SEVERAL CONTEMPORARY GALLERIES HAVE DIRECTORS WHO FOCUS SOLELY ON CULTIVATING MUSEUM RELATIONSHIPS FOR THEIR ARTISTS, TRAVELING ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO NEGOTIATE EXHIBITIONS AND MEETING WITH BOARDS OF MUSEUMS AND CURATORS TO PRESENT WORKS BY ARTISTS THEY REPRESENT. IT IS AN ART FORM IN AND OF ITSELF.

AS THE CHICAGO APPRAISERS ASSOCIATION NOTES:

The trick to selling to museums whether it be a large institution like the Metropolitan Museum of Art or your local historical society is scholarly research, provenance and a lot of patience. Nothing moves fast with museums. They do not have to necessarily operate on at a yearly profit, so they move at their own maddening slow pace.

IT IS A MARK OF THE QUALITY OF THE WORK AND THE EXPERTISE OF THE DEALER THAT DEBRA FORCE HAS SUCH GREAT SUCCESS IN PLACING ART WORKS IN VERY PRESTIGIOUS MUSEUMS.

TODAY, THE LRFA BLOG CONTINUES ITS DIALOG WITH DEBRA TO LEARN ABOUT THIS ASPECT OF THE ART BUSINESS.

http://www.debraforce.com

DEBRA, THE GALLERY HAS AN EXTREMELY ACTIVE AND IMPRESSIVE TRACK RECORD OF STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH NUMEROUS MUSEUMS. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT?

I started out more in the museum field and have an academic background, so have always felt a special affinity for institutions.  Throughout my career, I have made a point of visiting the curator or director of the art museum wherever I am traveling and have welcomed them to the gallery.  At times, we’ve organized small events for museum collecting groups and patrons, including special Saturday visits to discuss American art, using our inventory as visuals.  I have also spoken at various institutions and to their collecting groups, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the High Museum, etc. 

I have always attempted to match works of art with the right institution and find it rewarding to do so.  Museums to which we have sold works in recent times include:  Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vero Beach Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Montclair Art Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among many others.

Norman Bluhm
X, 1964
Oil on canvas

WHAT WOULD YOU DEFINE AS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SALE TO A COLLECTOR AND A SALE TO A MUSEUM?

Both are rewarding, especially if helping a client build a collection; there is a sense of pride in coming up with a theme or plan and finding works to illustrate the goal.  From the museum standpoint, it is so exciting to place a work in an institution where it will be studied and admired for posterity.  It is less interesting to work with clients who are mostly buying art for decorative purposes, but it can be challenging just the same.

Martin Johnson Heade
Cluster of Roses In a Glass
Circa 1887-1895

THE GALLERY IS A REGULAR EXHIBITOR AND PARTICIPANT IN SOME VERY PRESTIGIOUS ART FAIRS. WHICH ONES DO YOU FIND THE MOST PRODUCTIVE AND WHY, IN TERMS OF ATTENDANCE, SALES AND INTRODUCING NEW COLLECTORS TO THE GALLERY? 

We do a variety of art fairs to reach different audiences.  The best one for traditional American art is the one called The American Art Fair (TAAF) which takes place every Nov. at the same time as the major American Paintings auctions.  We have sold major works there, including ones by Martin Johnson Heade, Thomas LeClear, Thomas Hart Benton, and Oscar Bluemner.  It is the only fair that extols traditional American art; no works by living artists are allowed.

Milton Avery
Pink Island, White Waves, 1959
Oil on canvasboard

Of late, because of the emphasis on art from the second half of the 20^th Century and 21^st Century, we have exhibited at the Seattle Art Fair in August and Art Miami in December.  In both cases, we have focused upon Post-War era works as well as Modernism.  These fairs give us a chance to meet new clients and to exhibit works that we do not feature in the gallery on a regular basis.  We might also show works by living artists such as Wolf Kahn, Wayne Thiebaud, or Jamie Wyeth.

John Marin
Hudson River Galley, 1911
watercolor on paper

The Art Fair, sponsored by the ADAA in New York in March, is a favorite of ours.  It also allows us to promote our 20^th-century material, generally with a thematic approach such as a tribute to the 100^th anniversary of the Armory Show of 1913, social commentary, or urban/rural landscape.  We have consistently sold well at this fair, selling works by Marsden Hartley, Walt Kuhn, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber, Charles Burchfield, John Marin, and Alice Neel, among others.

We have also tried fairs in Palm Beach and Chicago as well as others in New York, always experimenting with new venues to determine where we best fit.

THE GALLERY ALSO PROVIDES LICENSED APPRAISAL SERVICES. WHAT DOES THAT ENTAIL AND WHAT DO YOU PROVIDE?

I have been doing appraisals for over 30 years, beginning when I was at Christie’s.  We presently provide formal insurance valuations for both private collectors and museums and assist the latter with insurance figures for exhibition loans.  Over the years, we have appraised entire museum collections.  We do not presently do gift tax or estate appraisals, but we do offer consultation and recommendations for clients in need of either.

O. Louis Guglielmi
Elements of the Street, 1947
Oil on canvas

THE GALLERY TAKES WORKS ON CONSIGNMENT ON OCCASION. WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA WHEN CONSIDERING A WORK OF ART FOR RESALE?

We try to find the best quality works that we can from any period of American art, beginning in the 18^th Century up to about 1980. 

For example, we have portraits by Benjamin West and Thomas Sully, landscapes by Jasper Cropsey and Thomas Moran, still lifes by Heade and William Harnett, genre scenes by Eastman Johnson and Winslow Homer, Ashcan works by Robert Henri, William Glackens, and Everett Shinn, Modernist pieces by Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, and Arthur Dove, Regionalist scenes by Thomas Hart Benton, and Surrealist and Magic Realist pieces by George Tooker and O. Louis Guglielmi, among others. 

Winslow Homer
Green Apples, 1866
Oil on canvas

We attempt to find the best of any given artist and work with pieces in a variety of price ranges to accommodate clients with varying pocketbooks.  Generally, most of our inventory is on consignment; it is very difficult to buy works at auction for resale, given public access to price records on the internet.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG POST, DEBRA WILL CONTINUE TO OUTLINE THE EXTENSIVE SCOPE OF SERVICES THAT THE GALLERY PROVIDES.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING A BIRD’S EYE VIEW OF THE HIGH STANDARDS THAT THE GALLERY SETS IN PROVIDING EXPERTISE IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE BUYING, EXHIBITING AND SELLING OF AMERICA ART.

UNTIL THEN, THANK YOU ALL!

 

 

NB The works illustrated in this blog are from the gallery inventory

The Antiques Roadshow and more with American art dealer and gallerist, Debra Force

Debra Force
Antiques Roadshow

FACED WITH AN INCREASINGLY MEDIA-SATURATED, GLOBALIZED CULTURE, ART HISTORIANS HAVE BEGUN TO ASK THEMSELVES CHALLENGING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF THEIR DISCIPLINE ACCORDING TO SYLVAN BARNET IN HIS A SHORT GUIDE TO WRITING ABOUT ART. THIS BOOK PROVIDES A GUIDELINE FOR STUDENTS ON  EVERY ASPECT OF WRITING ABOUT ART: FORMAL ANALYSIS, COMPARISON, RESEARCH AND ALL THE TOOLS NECESSARY TO PRESENT THEIR FINDINGS WITH EFFECTIVE WRITING.

https://www.amazon.com/Short-Guide-Writing-About-11th/dp/020588699X

THE BEST ART DEALERS ARE ART HISTORIANS AS WELL, ENGAGED IN THE HISTORY AND PROVENANCE OF WORKS, THE QUALITY AND THE TECHNIQUE.  THEY PROVIDE THE POTENTIAL COLLECTOR WITH INFORMATION ABOUT A WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ARTIST’S ENTIRE OEUVRE AND IN COMPARISON TO WORKS IN THE SAME PERIOD AND GENRE.  ONE OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A GALLERIST OR AN ADVISOR IS TO EDUCATE CLIENTS ABOUT THE ARTISTS THEY ARE CONSIDERING OR ARE ADDING TO THEIR COLLECTIONS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE IN THE AREA OF AMERICAN ART AS IT IS SO RICH IN OUR HISTORY WITH VAST ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE OF THE CULTURE, MORES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE TIME. SCHOLARSHIP IS CRUCIAL IN ENRICHING THE APPRECIATION AND COMMITMENT OF COLLECTORS OF THIS PERIOD.

James Jebusa Shannon
Portrait of Liz Cartwright

THERE IS NO ONE WHO MORE GRACEFULLY COMBINES AN ACADEMIC PASSION FOR THE HISTORY OF AMERICA  AND ITS ART THAN DEBRA FORCE.

ESTABLISHED IN 1999, THE GALLERY SPECIALIZES IN AMERICAN PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURE FROM THE 18th, 19th and 20th CENTURIES. DEBRA FORCE FI”NE ART FOCUSES ON QUALITY WHATEVER THE MEDIUM OR PERIOD AND DEBRA HAS AN EXCEPTIONAL TALENT FOR IDENTIFYING ARTISTS WHO HAVE FALLEN FROM VIEW AND RENEWING OUR APPRECIATION OF THEIR WORK AND REVIVING THEIR MARKET.

http://www.debraforce.com

ONE SUCH ARTIST IS JAMES JEBUSA SHANNON, AN AMERICAN PORTRAIT PAINTER BORN IN NEW YORK, WHO TRAVELLED TO ENGLAND TO STUDY PAINTING AND  BECAME ONE OF BRITAIN’S MOST CELEBRATED PORTRAIT ARTISTS AT THE TURN OF THE 19th CENTURY. IN AN ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, EVE M. KAHN, A FREQUENT CONTRIBUTOR TO THEIR ANTIQUES SECTION, PUBLISHED ONCE FORGOTTEN PAST, NOW RECALLED IN PAINTING, AN EXCELLENT REVIEW OF THE EXHIBITION AT DEBRA FORCE FINE ART OF TWO DOZEN WORKS BY SHANNON, SEEKING BEAUTY: PAINTINGS BY JAMES JEBUSA SHANNON,  AN ARTIST WHO WAS, IN HIS DAY, COMPARED TO JOHN SINGER SARGENT.

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/13/arts/design/james-jebusa-shannons-portraits-rescued-from-obscurity.html

DEBRA, WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO NEW YORK, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE ART WORLD?

My first job in New York was as Assistant to the Head of the American Paintings Department at Christie’s from 1984-1989, at which point, I became Head of the Department and a Senior Vice President until 1993.

American Art
Christie’s New York

WHAT WAS YOUR PROFESSIONAL HISTORY PRIOR TO OPENING DEBRA FORCE FINE ART?

Curator and Director of the CIGNA (formerly INA) Museum and Art Collection in Philadelphia (1977-1984)

Assistant to the Head of the American Paintings Dept. and later Head of Dept. and a Senior Vice President at Christie’s, New York (1984-1993)

Director of American Art at Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York (1993-1994)

Director of Beacon Hill Fine Art, New York (1994-1999)

President of Debra Force Fine Art, New York (1999-present)

WHAT PROMPTED YOUR DECISION TO OPEN A GALLERY?

When Beacon Hill Fine Art closed, I was given a generous severance package that enabled me to start my own gallery.  I had never intended to do so until then.

 

On the air
Debra Force at the Antiques Roadshow

YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW THAT TRAVELS AROUND THE COUNTRY INVITING PEOPLE TO BRING IN THEIR TREASURED ART OBJECTS FOR IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION . WHAT WERE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT EXPERIENCE?

I have been on “Antiques Roadshow” for over 18 years and have had lovely experiences, meeting people, and seeing exciting and challenging art. Of course, most of what we see is of minimal value, but we do run across real “finds,” particularly if the owner has no idea of the identity of the artist.  In St. Paul, MN, my guest was an elderly man who had been a farmer (he was wearing bib overalls) and who had gone to a farm auction where he bought a box of stuff, including two paintings, for  $ 4.00.  One painting was worth about $ 500.00 and he liked that one and had it hanging in his living room. He could not read the signature on the other, and since he didn’t care for it, he had it in a closet.  ThIs painting was by Victor Higgins, the Taos artist, and it was a New Mexico scene worth about $ 100,000.00.  It was a true find!

Victor Higgins
Arroyo Landscape
Watercolor on paper

In Jacksonville, I surprisingly saw two paintings by Thomas Hart Benton; both were authentic and belonged to different people….it was quite amazing since guests come to us “first come, first serve.” One was a rare still life given by the artist to the owner’s parents; the other, was a Martha’s Vineyard scene belonging to a descendant of a Missourian involved with the Truman Library in Independence, MO…strange that both ended up in Florida!

Thomas Hart Benton
Martha’s Vineyard
Oil on canvas

One of my more amusing spots was with a man in Washington, DC, who was very colorful in his dress and who had a Jessie Willcox Smith…when he learned that the value was over $ 100,000, he did his “Happy Dance,” as he called it.

I have also received works to sell from people who watch the show, but who have not appeared on it.  These have included an important Maurice Prendergast watercolor of St. Malo and an amazing Herbert “Buck” Dunton of the artist’s daughter on her favorite horse with Taos in the distance and belonging to a descendant of the artist.

Maurice Prendergast
Beach at St. Malo

And, you never know why people give you things to sell…one guest who was on the show with a Willard Metcalf painting ultimately decided to sell it through me purely because we had both “Quakers;” that is, we had both gone to Penn.

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG WITH DEBRA FORCE, AMERICAN ART SPECIALIST, WE WILL LEARN ABOUT THE GALLERY’S PARTICIPATION IN ART FAIRS AND THE APPRAISAL SERVICES THE GALLERY PROVIDES. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK ANY RELEVANT QUESTIONS- WE HAVE ACCESS TO A SEASONED EXPERT IN THE FIELD OF AMERICAN ART OF THREE CENTURIES–

FIRE AWAY!