Art auctions - what's the real deal?

Let me start by saying, I know very little about art and have never purchased art while cruising. Do most pieces sell for more than their actual value?

I'm cruising next month and was curious about the onboard process of buying art. Pros, cons, or things to avoid.

Thanks

Let me start by saying, I know very little about art and have never purchased art while cruising. Do most pieces sell for more than their actual value?

 

I'm cruising next month and was curious about the onboard process of buying art. Pros, cons, or things to avoid.

 

Thanks

Things to avoid?.....Art auctions onboard cruise ships.

I've only ever heard bad things about them. Cheap pictures, unknown artists, pictures damaged upon shipment, lack of contact after returning home if you have issues.

Oh, and you'll probably pay more for the picture onboard (being plied with alcoholic drinks) than you would if you just bought it straight. Something about suppressed control while drinking and bidding at an auction.

Pure schlock! Called copy art, made in factories in where else-China. Will be hundreds of whatever ones appeal to you.I have noted same ones over the years. Pure sucker play. Some ships have cancelled the various contractors who run the auctions.

With art...buy what appeals to you...but NOT on a cruise ship!

There is nothing you are going to buy that will be "worth" more in the future so don't go in thinking you are making an investment. Remember that shipping is extra and quality framing can run you a ton of money depending on the size of the piece. Most of the stuff offered are lithographs ... pieces that have potentially been "touched" by the artist and signed but are one of a series of hundreds or thousands (and there can be multiples of these series).

I've used it to find artists I like and can then look for their pieces elsewhere.

We've never attended and certainly not bought anything at the Art Auctions.

Guess, they must be "money makers" or ships would not continue to have them. :rolleyes:

Two words...caveat emptor.

Run, Forest, RUN!!!

I agree, don't expect prices to go up, but you should never buy art purely for profit anyway.

However there are some good buys if you know what's what, and certainly some nice pieces at pretty fair if you are simply decorating.

Let me start by saying, I know very little about art and have never purchased art while cruising. Do most pieces sell for more than their actual value?

 

I'm cruising next month and was curious about the onboard process of buying art. Pros, cons, or things to avoid.

 

Thanks

compete and utter Horse hockey and not even worth the free glass of sparkling wine you get for attending.

we are ( relatively) extensive collectors on a certain genre: animation and sericels as well as anything by John Alvin.

sericels are pretty standard and do not fluctuate that much in price until after the edition has completely sold out.

the exact pieces we own have been listed on board at hundreds more than what we paid for them at our preferred gallery.

do not waste your time or money on anything

Why do the cruise lines allow these auctioners on the ships ?

Why do the cruise lines allow these auctioners on the ships ?

$$$$. We chatted informally with an art auctioneer who was previously a shore excursion manager. We've known him for years and he trusted us. He said he made WAY more money as an auctioneer.

Everyone gets a cut - the auctioneer, the ship, the art company, maybe even the artist. Remember PT Barnum's line about who is born every minute .....

Everything that has been said about art auctions on this thread are 100% spot on. Overpriced, not an investment, multiple copies of a work, etc.

That said, if a piece of art really talks to you and you can't find it anywhere else on line (you can check on the internet on the ship) and you really don't care if you being taken price wise - then buy it. Don't worry about if it is worth the money you paid for it. At the prices of the art that most of us can afford, we will never make money on the art so it is not an investment. I have stuff hanging on my wall that I don't know or don't care what it is worth. I just love looking at it.

DON

(disclaimer - i have not yet been on a cruise)

So from what I have learned the art auctions are not worth the canvas they are painted on. But you can see that from above posters so you don't need me bleating on again.

My two extra pennies. You could go for the glass (or hopefully more!) of free sparkly fizz and just for a browse/window shop. It might give you some ideas for when you get home for something you'd like to look into.

Then there is if you see a piece you like. Make sure you really like it, don't care as to the provenance/cost/etc, you want it and you are prepared to pay for it. It is your kinda thing, it will look nice in your living room/over the bed etc. You are buying it purely because it is pretty and you want it. Then why not, it'd be the same if you saw something in a store.

Basically it is not an art auction in the same way gallery auctions on land are. It is pretty much a profiteering exercise for the cruise line and assorted others.

Go into it with your eyes open, wits about you and expectations on the right level and see how it pans out.

We covered our walls with lithographs we've bought on cruises, never spending more than $150 or $200 for an item, including framing and shipping (we did carry off pieces once, when we had driven to the port). We only buy items we like and for that kind of money you get a nice looking print in a nice looking frame. As our tastes have changed, those prints have ended up on nieces and nephews and friends' kids walls and we've replaced them with things we like better now.

We've never paid more than the opening bid for an item, and we've priced the identical thing back home and found that our prices paid have been very fair for what we've gotten.

As long as you buy for taste only and zero expectation of profit, you'll do well.

I know everyone's taste varies, but regardless of the value/worth, on all of the cruises we've been on that had the art auctions, I don't think there has ever been one "work of art" that I would want hanging on my wall. Well........ maybe just that one of Elvis on Velvet.

Well as someone who has actually attended some of these, and not just heard it from someone who heard it from someone who read about in online, I will weigh in. In the interest of being upfront we have not attended in the last 3-4 years but did got to several between 2005-20012. All but one was operated by Park West.

Very few of the pieces are original and I have never heard anyone purport them to be. Most (not all) are serigraphs or lithographs. They are numbered so you can easily tell that the one on offer is number 48 of 250 for example. We have not paid more than $250.00 for any one piece. The framing offered was cheaper than what we could have gotten back home.

Why are they still on ships? For the same reason ships still have casinos, sell alcohol, try to convince you you must shop at their "recommended" stores in port, sell excursions and on and on and on. Because they are a revenue stream. In order to be profitable, they need the ancillary revenue. They cannot stay in business on cruise fares, unless you would like your fare to double.

I know everyone's taste varies, but regardless of the value/worth, on all of the cruises we've been on that had the art auctions, I don't think there has ever been one "work of art" that I would want hanging on my wall. Well........ maybe just that one of Elvis on Velvet.

the sports ones do well. you know the ones with something extra embedded like a ticket stub or a scrap of uniform. some of the photographs may be copy number 6500 of 20000, but it is a good picture.

but as far as the 'pure' art goes, you are correct.. most of it I just shake my head and wonder who paints this stuff, let alone who buys it...

then again, I have a friend who paid ten grand for a bunch of pencil scribbles on canvas that I have no idea what they are supposed to look like but she waxed poetic for 20 minutes on the artist.

If you are on the fence then google things like art auction litigation etc.

Read a few of the articles. I would suggest that spending a small amount if just fine but I would certainly not buy anything expensive.

But on the bright side, they create loads of revenue for the cruise line and probably serve to keep the fares in check a little.

I remember seeing on "American Greed" that these art auctions are nothing less than criminal. They are generally counterfeit pieces and the artist is cut out of the profits. I specifically remember artists like Thomas Kincaid being bankrupt by these thieves. Making his actual art work worthless.

My friend and her husband drank a lot of wine before going to the art auction. They spent $2500 on art. Watch your alcohol intake!

I remember seeing on "American Greed" that these art auctions are nothing less than criminal. They are generally counterfeit pieces and the artist is cut out of the profits. I specifically remember artists like Thomas Kincaid being bankrupt by these thieves. Making his actual art work worthless.

Thomas Kinkade - the original art whore? Has a factory of "artists" painting his crap? That guy?

Thomas Kinkade net worth:

$70 Million.

Thomas Kinkade Net Worth: Thomas Kinkade was an American artist who had a net worth of $70 million dollars.

Where do I go to become bankrupt like that?

You could go for the glass (or hopefully more!) of free sparkly fizz and just for a browse/window shop. It might give you some ideas for when you get home for something you'd like to look into. ... .

That is why we go to the art auctions.

I remember seeing on "American Greed" that these art auctions are nothing less than criminal. They are generally counterfeit pieces and the artist is cut out of the profits. I specifically remember artists like Thomas Kincaid being bankrupt by these thieves. Making his actual art work worthless.

There is very little accurate in this post.

Hi there

Nobody has even mentioned that these "events" are not even what would normally be recognized as an auction.

The "art" is bought at an predetermined price. There is typically no further bidding because the works aren't worth more than for what they are offered. (if that) Auctions don't have another item just like the one they sold in their warehouse available for the same price. (that is why if you go on many cruises you will see the same items year after year) This is usually considered retail. Their presentation is more of a show than anything else. They entertain and they sell. People seem to enjoy this on cruises.(for whatever reason)

Watch out if you get something free or win a prize. If they actually sell enough pieces they start to give a lot of pieces away. Then what they will try to do is get you to pay (lets say) $50 delivery for a $15 print, or maybe a couple of hundred to frame it.

Just understand what it is you are buying. If you want to buy some fine art, go to a reputable dealer near you, do some research, then you can make an informed decision.

People say it very often...you are on vacation. Don't make any major purchases unless you are very knowledgeable.

have a great cruise