Picasso reproduction print, pencil signed by the artist, is offered at 31 Club Gallery.

I’ve recently been bombarded with people wanting to sell me some of the best works of art and glass I’ve seen in many years. Salinas, Wood, Joiner and Sawyier are just a few of those that have come across my desk. I haven’t been able to purchase all the great works of art I’m seeing, because the asking prices are simply too high. But that’s okay. We are in the business of dealing in the rare and unusual, because that’s where we can make the most money today. We have that opportunity now and can be selective during this turbulent economic time. It’s important to be disciplined and use control now in your spending.

Along with some of these fine pieces of art, there’s been a great increase in the number of prints such lithographs, serigraphs and other printing techniques that are being offered to me. At this time, I have very little interest in prints. One of the rare exceptions are wood block prints, because I consider these almost the same as originals. I share this with you because when markets are first elevated, people look for substitutes for originals. These are more readily affordable. At the peak of a market, prints of leading artists can command high prices, but as the market stabilizes and cash is more readily available once again, prints quickly drop in price. In fact, I would state today that most prints will only command decorator prices, and you should give them very little value as a piece of art. Even the most sought after pieces will decline in value if this economy continues to decline.

Having said that, my advise to you is to buy prints only if you can obtain them for less than it could cost to frame them. Today, having a print framed will usually exceed $200 if the piece is matted properly and the frame isn’t from a big box store. I’d be hard pressed to buy a print for over $100 unless it was signed and numbered by a leading artist. Picasso would be an example of where I’d bend my rule.

With the real thing in art, it is almost impossible for the piece to lose its entire value, regardless of the economy, and at times it even makes sense to restore a damaged piece. Not so with prints. They can lose their value quite rapidly, and if you damage a print, it can send its value to nothing. You see, paper items tend to be more likely to get damaged by too much sunlight, and water is often a villain in a print’s demise. Prints damaged by water or sunlight often have very little value. Watch for the real thing during this economic turn down, and buy it if you can.

Spend money wisely, and the results will speak for themselves.

If you like Porfirio Salinas, take a look at William A. Slaughter.

My phone is continuing to ring off the hook with people desperate to sell their belonging because they need cash, or think they might. This flurry of phone calls might be based on fear – the fear of not knowing what the value of their savings and property will be if this economy continues its downward spiral. The market is changing, and as buyers and sellers of antiques and fine art, we need to adjust our way of doing business to handle the change. This isn’t a “bad” thing. I call this time, “Oportunity Time.” And, that can be a good thing.

It’s opportunity time for those of us in this business and for those collectors who have the cash to buy. I’m not saying we should hurry on out to spend our money. It’s opportunity only if we are diligent in our hunt for treasure and select the very best. When we find it, we should take the chance and offer a price that will best assure a substantial profit. I’m not suggesting we be unfair, but rather take into consideration how long it might take to sell that item at the price we’ll need, and to consider if it doesn’t sell at that price, how much further we might have to drop the price days or months down the road in order to move it. These are very uncertain times, and when we’re buying now, we’re taking a bigger risk. That risk needs to figure into our offers. Merchandise is only as valuable as the price someone will pay for it. And, right now, it’s anybody’s guess what that will be a week, a month, or six months from now. By all means, adjust your offers to the present market conditions, weighing the risk carefully. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how much a Mark Rothko painting or an Andy Warhol will sell for today, in light of this Wall Street fiasco. Whoever has cash, can become king of the hill.

This week, a woman who has a wonderful Porfirio Salinas Texas Bluebonnet painting, called looking to sell it. I asked her what she thought the painting was worth. She told me,“$25,000.”  She might have been correct a little while back, but not today. The last Salinas, same size as hers, sold for $16,000, and that is a new listed figure. After commissions, the most she could expect would be about $12,000. I explained this to her, and I gave her another place to check further. I haven’t heard back from her yet, but I’m certain I will.

The only way that painting will bring more than $12,000 is at auction. In that scenario, the wait will be several months, and by then, there is no telling what market conditions we will be facing. I just happen to have a buyer interested in purchasing a Porfirio Salinas. At the right price, I could sell the painting very quickly, and she could have cash in hand.

You might be asking, “Why not pay a little more for the painting and be sure that you get it?” Here’s why: The next call might be an even better opportunity, so why should I hurry to spend my money? Then, Bingo! The next call was from a person who has some of the best Lotton Glass I’ve ever seen. If the price is right, I will buy it.

When we are dealing in upper end items in the Antiques and Fine Art Markets, it doesn’t take too much of an effort to tie up a considerable amount of money.  The rewards in this business can make our lives a lot easier and they will come only if we use our money wisely.  Always keep track of where you are money in the money department. Know what you can commit and what the risks are. And remember – there is always the Associate Program available to 31 Club members if you find a treasure but don’t have the funds to buy it yourself.

There is a large amount of quality items likely coming to market in the days ahead. I already see some of them coming. At this time, we might not need to spend so much time trying to find items that others have missed. This present and coming market will allow us to pick and choose what we want to buy, and at what price we want to pay. It’s looking to be a buyer’s market. Our prices should be adjusted accordingly. Don’t make an offer unless you seriously intend to purchase the item. The seller just might surprise you and say “sold,” and you’ll need to buy. Remember the rules in which we conduct our business. If you need a reminder, it’s in our club guide book - “31 Steps to Your Millions in Antiques & Collectibles.”

I don’t enjoy being right when people have to suffer, but the following article about a fallen mogul auctioning off much of his art collection is a sign of the times and a testament to the value of fine art work.

I’ve written before that I expected valuable items not seen in many years to hit the marketplace. If the economy continues to remain turbulent, this article may be one example of what we might be seeing more of within our own communities in the days ahead. I’ve always said many antiques and many works of art keep growing in value. It’s in times like our present time that these assets can come in handy for many families.

While I’m not straying from the stated purpose of the 31 Club — buying and selling quickly — I did state that it wasn’t a bad idea to set a few items back for your own collection. You, too, might need it on a rainy day.

Here’s the article from the Wall Street Journal:

“Fallen Tycoon to Auction Prized Works Lehman’s Fuld and Wife Consign Millions in Postwar Art to Christie’s for November Sale

‘Study for Agony I” is a jewel-toned drawing made by modern master Arshile Gorky in 1946.

It could also evoke the plight of its owners, Richard Fuld Jr. — chairman and chief executive of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the bankrupt holding company — and his wife, Kathy, a well-known collector of modern art.

The Gorky drawing is part of a group of 16 postwar drawings owned by the Fulds that were quietly put up for sale by Christie’s last month, according to people familiar with the situation. The sketches were consigned in early August following a competitive bidding process between Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Christie’s wouldn’t confirm the identity of the seller but says the total presale estimate of the works is between $15 million and $20 million.”

continue article here….

As money gets tight in this economy, I’ve received more calls than ever from people wanting to sell their valuable items – just like I thought. But remember, as antique and art buyers, we work just like real estate investors and stock investors. When the general public is in a panic and selling things off, when things look their worst, that’s when we buy. It’s in these times when the bargains in antiques, collectibles, and fine art will be found. True collectors are still waiting for you to contact them with that very special piece they’ve been hoping for, and you just might have found it.

We are in the last period of our website reconstruction, and I’m getting really excited in anticipation of the results .All members can now go to the Members Only Section and create a unique ID and Password. Once you create that, you can add the items you look to buy on your Wish List. It won’t show until the end of the week, but don’t until then to create your list. You can do it now.

Keep track of your progress in the Million Dollar Race by using your Personal Inventory Page right there on the website. This is a private page and only you will be able to view it. Please email or call us and let us hear how far you’ve progresses. For those of you who haven’t been following 31 Club, the Million Dollar Race is an inter-club competition to see who can compound $100 into a million dollars first.

We are almost there, so thanks to our many charter members for supporting us during the building of the 31 Club from the ground up.

Diego Rivera

If you came across a quality painting with only the initials “CC” signed, would it be worth your while to find out if this might be something of value? On the one hand, the time researching might pay off handsomely, but on the other hand, the time spent researching might add nothing more than another layer of knowledge, possibly to be used next time around.

This is the way it is in the Fine Arts business. You’ll often find signed paintings, but can’t decipher the signature. It may take you a lot of time researching and there’s a chance you’ll come up empty handed. But, the rewards of finding something valuable are fantastic. I found a painting one time that I knew had to be painted by a talented artist, but I couldn’t read the signature. My only solution was to go through the entire set of signature books I had, so I decided to do this. About halfway through the first book, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I found a direct match. At this point, I still didn’t know the value of my piece, but once I saw this artist’s signature in the book, I knew he was a listed artist and I could track this down.

I grabbed my Davenport’s Art Price Guide and quickly look him up. I discovered that the $150 I paid for this painting had been well spent. The least expensive of this artist’s work brought $5,000 while his top sale was over $82,000. I soon sold this painting for just over $12,500. If I had paid myself $200 for the time I spent researching, my profit still would have been over $11,500. Not bad for a little work.

Remember, we are looking for things others miss, and often the point where they walk away is when there’s a signature that isn’t clear. How many people do you suppose looked at that painting and thought that it just wouldn’t be worth the effort to research it.

There are other things people walk away from in the art world. For example, many famous artists used only initials to sign their work. If you don’t have a book on these monograms, then they’ll mean nothing to you. I use the American and European set of books called “Signatures and Monograms” by John Castagno. If you can find these used on the Internet or through Abesbooks or Amazon, they could be like gold to you.

In these books, you’ll also learn that artists often painted under more than one name. A woman may have painted under her maiden name, as well as her married name. These books also contain sections on indecipherable signatures and the symbols some artists used on their paintings.

You will also find where artist often painted under more than one name. A lady for instance my have painted under her maiden name and also her married name. They also have a sections in these books on indecipherable signatures and symbols that some artist used on their paintings.

Back to my original question – if you found a painting marked “CC”, would you take the time to research it? If you did, you’d discover it was painted by the famous artist Jean Baptiste Camilla Corot, and it would be very valuable. If a painting is signed, “Picasso” most people would pay attention, but if it had the initial D with the number 32 after it and you researched it, you’d know it was by Diego Rivera and it was time to snatch that up. And what if you could buy one of these for just a few hundred dollars, because somebody didn’t know what it was. The record for one of Rivera’s works is over $1,500,000. Like I said in my book, let’s spend our time where the money is.

One of our members just emailed me about a painting she purchased for $1200. If it’s genuine, it’s worth over $28,000. I have my fingers crossed for her. And presently, I’m researching a painting that could very easily be worth $65,000 or more. I’ll share the results with you when I get them, and it wouldn’t hurt to have your fingers crossed for me, too.

There are other sources of looking up artists, such as AskArt.com, ArtNet.com and ArtPrice.com. These are subscription based services. If you’re a member of the 31 Club, rather than subscribing to these yourself, you can give us a call and we’ll check the name and prices for you. That’s just one more advantage of being a member.