Big auction seasons in New York always feel like marathons. “How exhausting can that be, really?” I wonder every time before things kick off – only to find myself delirious at the end.
The banking sector in crisis and rising interest rates add to the already high stakes of the current flagship season, where there are auctions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips – with an estimated cumulative art treasure to $1.3 billion to $1.9 billion – packed with small sales at Bonhams and Doyle, at least five art fairs and countless gallery openings. Add to that galas for MoMA PS1 and the Whitney, and countless gallery dinners…. Well, no human can do it all.
So how do seasoned collectors budget their time and money during the art onslaught?
“When I look at what the next two weeks look like, I’m reminded to reframe it,” said Scott Lorinsky, a collector who seems like he could be everywhere.
He considers the artistic circuit as a circus, in which he has a role to play.
“I’m invited into the big tent, and my role is to dress up and introduce myself, go cheer and buy popcorn,” said Lorinsky, chief executive of an alternative asset firm. At New York. “And so, even when it’s a bit overwhelming, who am I to complain about this embarrassment of social events in the community I’m proud to be a part of?”
Scott Lorinsky with Pam Glick works at the Stephen Friedman booth at Independent New York. Courtesy of Scott Lorinsky
A board member of the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, Lorinsky doesn’t prioritize auctions, despite going to previews and leaving “stunned,” he said. he declares.
Instead, he focuses on art fairs and gallery shows where he can directly support artists and their dealers.
“Usually I always end up buying something from Independent and Frieze. But I also go to Basel. So you don’t want to get too committed in May, when the biggest and maybe the most important fair in art is only weeks away.
To date, he has built up a collection of some 800 works. He does not work with a counselor and trusts his eye, his instincts and the relationships he has built over the years. While he would see hundreds of booths, Lorinsky typically buys between six and ten galleries, including Andrew Kreps and Gordon Robichaux.
During the VIP opening of the Independent art fair on May 11, Lorinsky was drawn to Pam Glick’s abstract paintings at London’s Stephen Friedman Gallery, which is opening a branch in Tribeca. But he wasn’t ready to pull the trigger yet (prices range from $12,000 to $70,000). The gallery will feature more paintings by the Vermont artist in Frieze. When we met at the gallery dinner at La Mercerie in SoHo, he said he had committed to buying a Glick painting but was looking for the right size, not too small, not too big.
Collector Lonti Ebers, center, next to paintings by Gina Litherland, at Independent New York. Photo: Katia Kazakina.
Just Around the Corner Paintings from Glick to Independent, MoMA Trustee Lonti Ebers found herself charmed by the canvases of Gina Litherland, a Midwestern surrealist with images rooted in Norse mythology, at the Corbett vs. Dempsey. She rushed to the booth to grab a ceramic sculpture by another gallery artist, Magalie Guerin, a French Canadian who lives in Marfa, Texas. At the price of $6,000, it was a no-brainer. (Three exhibits sold out within the first 30 minutes.)
“Then I looked up,” Ebers said, and saw the Litherland paintings, priced at $15,000 to $30,000. “I’m pretty quick to decide. If they had told me it was $250,000, that would have been a different story.
His next stop that day was TEFAF at the Park Avenue Armory, where the aisles were more crowded than ever. New York’s top museum directors, including Max Hollein of the Met and Glenn Lowry of MoMA, chatted and shook hands with collectors and dealers. CNN’s Anderson Cooper stopped by a $4.5 million Giacommetti sculpture at Thomas Gibson Fine Art. Actors Colin Jost and John Krasinski inspected Richard Green’s Impressionist paintings.
Ebers went to the Tina Kim gallery booth to see the paintings of Pacita Abad, whose works she collects. She loves art fairs because they allow her to quickly scan and keep moving, while she doesn’t attend auctions unless she’s selling something. And, all the while, she keeps Art Basel in the back of her mind. “I wouldn’t buy anything less than great because I have expectations for Basel,” she said.
As for social events, it all comes down to geography when deciding which of her four dinner parties to join.
“I live downtown,” Ebers said. “I’m not going to go to something that’s miles away.”
Beth Rudin DeWoody in her new private art space, the Bunker. Photo ©Patrick McMullan.
Beth Rudin Dewoody, administrator of the Whitney, isn’t too fond of dinner parties either.
“They end up being too late for me,” she said. “And they are too loud. I try to choose and choose. I can go if it’s something early, or if it’s a good friend.
During her 10-day stay in New York, she will spend most of her time visiting as many art fairs and galleries as she can with her curator.
“I’m going to do Frieze, try to do NADA, Springbreak and Independent,” she said. “If I can, I will fit into the Future Fair.”
She may see auction previews and may have time to visit some museums. But she definitely needs to attend Whitney’s board meeting and gala next week.
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” she said. “I’m not supposed to spend that much. My assistant told me to slow down my art. It’s hard for me.
Alexander DiPersia, left, at Christie’s SI Newhouse Collection auction on May 11, 2023. Courtesy of Ray Waterhouse, Fine Art Brokers
Other collectors need to be more selective and opportunistic. Alexander DiPersia, feeling a bit exhausted after curating an exhibition of Basquiat and AR Penck in Paris, said he was going to bid for a painting by George Condo at the SI Newhouse auction at Christie’s. It was estimated at $1–1.5 million and grossed $2.7 million including fees.
“If I get the Condo, then I’m out,” he said before the auction. “I would like to live with this chart. It would probably mean I would have to sell another condo I own. I don’t need three condos.
Unlike collectors who frequent galleries, DiPersia concentrates on auctions, the previews of which he attends on several occasions.
“It’s a full-time job,” he says. “Primary prices have gotten so high that if you look at any of the big gallery stuff you’d be mad not to try and buy a great George Condo at auction and not from Hauser & Wirth.” (For example, prices for Condo’s new paintings when he last showed in Los Angeles ranged from $2.8 million to $3.6 million.)
New York collector Max Dolgicer agreed. “Galleries continue to raise prices for their hot artists,” he said. He keeps a list of artists that interest him: Rashid Johnson, Barbara Kruger, Mark Bradford, Tracey Emin.
Max Dolgicer at the vernissage of Yayoi Kusama at David Zwirner Gallery on May 11, 2023. Courtesy of Max Dolgicer
He scours auction previews to find the best gear and the best deals. “You might get lucky and buy something cheaper at auction” than at the gallery, he said. Which is shocking, considering auction houses charge up to 27% fees on the hammer price of $2 million or less. “Even with that fee, it’s cheaper,” Dolgicer said.
In addition to the auctions, Dolgicer went to TEFAF: “It’s a delight! It’s like going to Saint-Barthes. Who wouldn’t? he says – and Frieze, which opens May 17 at Hudson Yards. Then there are dinners and galas.
If that wasn’t enough, Dolgicer decided to take “a little detour” to see Emin’s exhibition in Rome, leaving on Friday and returning on Monday, in time for Christie’s 21st Century Art Evening Sale. century. “His paintings are getting better and better,” he said. “It’s a short trip but I think it’s worth it.”
Although the trade attracts international collectors to New York, it is not the only priority. Greek shipowner George Economou, a board member of the DIA Art Foundation, uses his time to meet museum curators and visit artists’ studios.
Greek collector George Economou, left, and his collection director Skarlet Smatana. Courtesy: George Economou Collection
“We are discussing how we can help museums with their collections in different ways,” said Skarlet Smatana, Economou’s collection director. “That’s probably our first priority.”
They follow a daily schedule to ensure everything is done, eliminating auction visits first. “We are always looking at historical documents from the 20th century, which never change,” she said. (They loved Francis Bacon’s self-portrait and the de Kooning from the Newhouse collection.) They’re also adding more work by mid-career female artists. Next year, the foundation will present Dana Schutz in its annual exhibition in Athens.
“My job is to bring him the best and most suitable examples,” Smatana said. Economou then decides what is feasible.
But not all collectors in town are buyers, of course. Helsinki-based John Lindell is visiting New York for the sale of his four works at Phillips, including Andy Warhol’s Story Self Portrait (spooky wig).
After collecting for 40 years, Lindell, who turns 70 next year, is now considering selling. But, as any seasoned collector knows, even when you’re not actively looking for art to buy, there are always temptations.
“Sometimes you’ve been looking for something for years and then you see it and you have to buy it,” Lindell said. “With any luck, I will return to Europe without buying anything.”
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