January 2009

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The news that Roman Abramovich has bought Bacon’s Triptych, 1976, and Freud’s Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, 1995 – for just under a cool $120 million – rather makes the buyer the star of this three-part story. Both purchases smashed records at auction last week – Freud became the most expensive living artist ($33.6m), eclipsing the previous record-holder Jeff Koons, and the Bacon made the highest auction price ever for a post-war work of art ($86.3m). But it is Abramovich, apparently a new entrant to the art market, who has created the biggest stir. Commentators on the sales have remarked on the sage investment value of both pieces, and one can assume he has been privy to expert advice. It is after all interesting that he has bought modern British rather than Russian or contemporary pieces.

But as prices rocket further for modern and contemporary works I wonder just how many contenders can compete with a $120 million art spree? With the value of art determined by the prices people are willing to pay, it creates a market in which works by the big-hitting artists become high-end luxury goods, presumably bought by some for the status and cultural sophistication with which the works endow their owner. Could it also be the case, therefore, that a work of art can be devalued by its owner simply because of who they are? It is possible that a cultural snootiness may be present in some of those priced out of the market who may then disdain a work once it is perceived to have been bought as a status symbol. Or does an unobtainable price tag always make the art all the more desirable?

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