Art Galleries Had A Pretty Good Year
(01/13/2009) Buying art is mostly a seasonal affair on the
 Morgan McGivern Photos
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South Fork, with summer bringing the most activity. For that reason, gallery owners said, the recession that became pronounced in September did little damage to their 2008 business.
Many said last year was as good if not better than 2007, and even new galleries seemed to hold their own or even grow. The owners are looking cautiously at 2009, however.
Pamela Williams, who opened her eponymous gallery on Amagansett’s Main Street in 2005, had seen great increases in sales each year — until last year. “It didn’t take that leap forward,” she said, adding that “it did as well this year as it did the year before.”
“It started out strong,” she said. “Spring was a little wispy, the summer strong.”
So far, she said, she feels fortunate. “A lot of people enjoy buying art. It makes people feel better in troubled times.” She conceded, however, that in an economic downturn, “the art market generally does suffer.”
A polychromed wood sculpture by David Suter from 2008 called “Centaur” is on view in Ms. Williams’s gallery.
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“No one has seen anything like this before,” she said, “so I can’t make a prediction.”
She does plan changes. “Last year I did a lot of solo shows,” she said. “When I scheduled this year, I promised only two or three.” To keep more of her artists out in view of potential buyers, she said, “everything else will be group shows.”
“We slipped through 2008 under the radar before the economy turned in September,” Lynn Dunham at Mark Borghi Fine Art in Bridgehampton, said. Last year was better for the gallery, business-wise, than previous years had been.
Part of that growth can be attributed to the gallery’s move to a larger venue. “We tripled our space, which was a bold move given what was happening in the economy,” she said. “We had an inkling in the spring that things weren’t great, but by expanding we were able to show a much larger body of work. It ended up being a smart move.”
“We had a great summer. A lot of new clients came in,” said Emily Goldstein, a partner in the Drawing Room Gallery in East Hampton. “This is our fifth summer and as the word gets out, our audience grows.”
Although September and October were quiet compared to the high season, the Drawing Room, like
other galleries, reported more activity than expected in November and December. Ms. Goldstein said the gallery’s shows of Diane Mayo’s raku ceramics and Laurie Lambrecht’s pictures of Roy Lichtenstein’s studio did very well. Both shows featured vibrant colors and bold graphic style: happy art.
It was not consciously selected, she said, to entice buyers by lifting their spirits. Rather, it fit into the gallery’s mission “of showing work that is reasonably priced and great quality. Both artists fall into that category.”
Reasonably priced means works priced below $10,000 and even below $5,000. “We’re going to keep prices where they are,” Ms. Goldstein said. “It’s not a time to be pushing the envelope.”
 Jennifer Landes
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Mary Anne Butler of Butler’s Fine Arts in East Hampton said she felt very fortunate with last year’s results. “This is the first year we’ve sold a substantial number of pieces around the holiday season,” she said. “Many of my clients usually wait for their bonuses.”
Despite hard times, she said, her clients are telling her they have no regrets about the purchases they already made. One customer, who had suffered great financial losses, “told me he was happy he bought what he bought when he did.”
Ms. Butler believes that, with people turning inward and focusing on their home life, “it could be a good time for my business.”
Stephan Keszler of Keszler Gallery in Southampton said December was a great month for him, both during the Scope Miami fair early in the month and with follow-up interest. “I don’t want to sound like the only guy who’s happy,” he said. “Now is the time to be cautious and careful, but if I have the right approach and the right art, I will do okay.”
Mr. Keszler reinforced what other dealers said: that flexibility is the key to success. “If an offer is reasonable, we do it,” he said.
This year, Mr. Keszler is adding art books from a German publisher, teNeues, to his inventory while also selling the artwork that is in them. He hopes that will broaden his opportunities to make sales.
Ms. Goldstein concurred. “I have not seen anything different as far as taste is concerned. People want to buy things that are reasonably priced,” she said. “People don’t want to overspend.”
According to Ms. Butler, “Anyone who’s smart knows when you need to be flexible.”
Ms. Dunham said her gallery had a slightly different business model. “We’re at a higher echelon of art collecting, with art proven to hold its value,” she said. “We’re somewhat insulated. People at that level are still making purchases; some are purchasing even more.”
Still, a Picasso painting that was displayed at ArtHamptons and attracted the interest of three potential buyers remained on display in the gallery through the late summer. One client is still considering it, Ms. Dunham said, adding that she couldn’t be sure it had not been sold, as it was sent back to New York City after Labor Day.
She said the hesitation on the Picasso could be a sign of economic cautiousness, but that it was also “typical of something in that category.”
“People don’t just write a check for $4 million off the street,” she said. “But just when you think a sale isn’t going to happen, it does.”
Even her gallery has an inventory of work to appeal to the more cost-conscious buyer. “We have a lot of artwork at the $1,500 mark,” she said. “Not everything is $4 million. A lot of works on paper, a Fritz Bultman drawing, a Pat Steir painting under $10,000.” During the off-season, Ms. Dunham said, “we tend to deal with artwork that is more affordable. The billionaires are not out here. Then, in the summer, the de Koonings come out. . . . We step it up to a higher level.”
Although many galleries slow down or close down during the winter, those that stay open seem to benefit from an off-season presence. Ms. Dunham said that when galleries close, “you lose momentum, and you never know when somebody might be interested.”
She recalled one September Monday when someone came in and asked to see a number of works not on view. Being new to the gallery, Ms. Dunham “pulled out everything,” she said. “It was a good learning experience for me.”
“Then when he left, I didn’t know if he was serious, but he came back and spent $40,000. You never know.”
Ms. Williams said it was important to support artists in the community, especially in a time of uncertainty. “A lot of people grow up here the friends and neighbors of artists. They are a strong part of the fabric of this end of the island. I think people value that,” she said.