Even In Summer Art Is Bought Online

There was a time when summer brought the art market to a virtual standstill. Galleries would largely close for the season, with only a few remaining open in holiday destinations. Along the seafront, crowded auctions would offer everything from carpets and decorative objects to paintings by artists who, more often than not, were unknown to the public. A handful of bids would appear, but the same faces were often behind them - the “tile,” as it were, needed to give the appearance of a sale where there was little substance behind it. The art world was viewed with a certain detachment, often with uncertainty and suspicion. That world, however, has been swept away by the pace of change. Today, opportunities to buy arrive from virtually everywhere. A constant stream of auctions, increasingly conducted online, takes little more than a brief pause around Ferragosto. Otherwise, it keeps up its relentless daily rhythm, offering works at price points accessible to an ever-wider audience.

And the web has become an inexhaustible marketplace, generating an almost continuous succession of temptations. Everyone is connected; everyone is engaged. No one wants to miss even the slightest development in the career of a particular artist, the reassessment of a historical period, or the fortunes of a more or less established group. Today, even from a beach, it is possible to pursue one's most elusive object of desire and, in a matter of minutes, acquire it with an instant bank transfer. This is the consequence of technological progress that appears to know no bounds, ready to facilitate a purchase at virtually any hour of the day or night. Some observers speak of a distorted market. Yet, objectively, the picture seems rather different. Never has there been so much material in circulation; never have so many works been offered through such a variety of channels; and probably never before have there been so many collectors worldwide. Each operates according to his or her own means and pace, of course, with the lower end of the market expanding into an increasingly broad and fragmented landscape.

Art, however, continues to stimulate and engage. It does not go unnoticed. It has become, by now, a genuine cultural phenomenon. Social media constantly circulate videos of the most important and consequential sales staged by the major auction houses, where works by the great masters command millions of dollars, yen and pounds. At the same time, every department is refining its offering, pursuing increasingly prestigious collections with an ever more sophisticated - and at times fiercely competitive - approach. This is where the relationship between the great aristocratic families of the French and British nobility and the leading names in the auction business becomes particularly significant. Younger generations of aristocratic families can often provide the key to accessing major private collections that might otherwise never reach the market. They can act as a gateway to the millions of dollars required to justify new investments, assemble prestigious collections and conceive entirely new museums. It is a pursuit without limits or borders, conducted virtually every day and on a global scale. Auction houses and dealers will often pursue even the smallest collectors, because within a more modest holding there may still be a rare gem - one capable of altering the balance of an already fluid and constantly evolving market. Meanwhile, telephones, alongside the web, remain permanently at the ready, enabling valuations to be made from a distance. Sometimes, all it takes is a photograph to make a dream seem within reach - even if only for a single night.