Tribal Art Auctions What is Happening- Winter 2022
Announcing Bonhams Skinner
“We are pleased to announce that Bonhams, the global auction house, has acquired Skinner, New England’s largest appraisers and auctioneers of fine and decorative art. The acquisition of our much-loved auction house will expand Bonhams access to the North American market, through Skinner's salerooms in Boston and Marlborough, Massachusetts, and its highly effective digital platform for online sales. The purchase of Skinner will also build on Bonhams' local to global business strategy, following on January 2022 addition of Bukowskis, the leading auction house in the Nordics. With its flagship salerooms in London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Hong Kong, and now Boston, Bonhams brings the world to New England and gives our world-class specialists global access. We are excited at the potential created in bringing these businesses together under the umbrella of the Bonhams family.
Karen Keane and Stephen Fletcher, the previous owners of Skinner
"Bonhams and Skinner are a great match. When we met to consider the proposed acquisition, we felt that we had all converged on a philosophy of customer service through offering comprehensive auction and appraisal options, and that the synergy of our two brands would extend the reach of both. In the end, this industry is about our people: consignors, buyers, experts and support staff, and this merger helps all of us to grow and succeed."
And more….
The post COVID auction landscape is continuing to evolve. Bonhams has now purchased Skinners, so I suspect that in answer to other changes in the marketplace, they will expand their ethnographic sales. Christies is now focusing on Oceanic and African pretty much ignoring Pre-Columbian and Native American. We should never say never; however, for the moment we can say Christies is not a player in all four areas. Sothebys has consolidated all four areas into a single department with sales reflecting that approach. So that leaves Heritage in Dallas and Hiindman in Chicago with Artemis in Colorado and Arte Primitivo in New York. As an appraiser who also catalogs for Quinns, I may be doing more sales as a cataloger. To be fair Artemis and Arte have sold a lot of material. I would dispute some of their representations as I suspect they might challenge mine.The bottom line for any seller is to have a good catalog with correct identifications and descriptions and to have a venue that gets as many eyes on as possible. The internet is changing that equation making it possible for smaller houses to compete in the middle market with the larger houses. Unless you bombard the marketplace with advertising pushing huge volumes of material through the auction begins to have a sameness that can be counter productive. It will be an interesting year
