| The appeal of art is universal, but the marketplace is | | | | & Hackett. Frontrunners Deutscher and Hackett |
| as diverse as painting styles. Auction houses around | | | | had sales last year that topped $26 million and ran a |
| the world enjoy varying levels of success, with some | | | | $7-million auction recently, selling Brett Whiteley's "View |
| promising new businesses located in Canada, England | | | | From the Sitting Room Window, Lavender Bay" for |
| and Australia. Some of the neatest home | | | | $1.5 million and Russell Drysdale's "Red Landscape" for |
| décor evolves from the wealthy, world | | | | just over $1 million. |
| traveler's eye for detail, while jet-setting from country | | | | Art consultant Ian Rogers told Australia's Fairfax Digital |
| to country. They pick up their treasures on vacation | | | | / The New Age, "I don't think [the market] is expanding |
| and cherish that special memento for life, all the while | | | | quickly enough to accommodate all of the players." |
| impressing guests with their art investment. | | | | What can collectors expect from one of Deutscher |
| Started circa 1995 in Vancouver on the West Coast | | | | & Hackett's massive fine art auctions? |
| of Canada - far from the wealthy art enthusiast base | | | | They have Tom Roberts, John Brack, Ian Fairweather, |
| in Toronto -- Heffel House was taking an obvious | | | | Arthur Boyds, Whiteley, Gascoigne and Dale Hickey, to |
| gamble. The Canadian market is not reported to be | | | | name a few. Also look out for a wider selection of |
| particularly busy, but Heffel House aimed to find the | | | | international art. "I am very excited about taking the |
| best and rarest Canadian art (like Emily Carr's Eagle | | | | opportunity of being so close to Asia," says Deutscher |
| Totem priced at $250,000 and a Haida totem pole | | | | himself. |
| carved by a Bill Reid). They also took a smart | | | | "Christie's dedication to the growth of the Middle East |
| business detour, by putting their entire collection up | | | | art and collecting market is tangible as we deliver the |
| online in full color for all to see. | | | | broadcast selection of rare and museum-quality |
| Quickly, their business skyrocketed with Vancouver | | | | pieces, as well as international sale highlights for |
| locals, Pennsylvanians and even Torontonians coming | | | | exhibition," says Jussi Pylkannen, the President of |
| in to snag the "undervalued" original art for sale. Owner | | | | Christie's Middle East & Europe auction houses, at |
| Robert Heffel told the National Post, "Our goal was, in | | | | his Halloween art sale. |
| the first five years, to have a $1-million auction, and in | | | | This year art collectors can find work by coveted |
| our first auction, we sold over $1-million just like that. I | | | | Iranian artist Charles Hossein Zenderoudi, the "Qur'anic |
| don't think people realize the power of the internet for | | | | Polyptych of Nine Panels" painted by Ahmed |
| this industry." | | | | Moustafa, or Farhad Moshiri's "One World - Yek Fonia" |
| Heffel is the only Canadian house that puts their entire | | | | map laden with Swarovski diamond-shaped crystals |
| catalogue of Canadian and international art on their | | | | on canvas. London itself is home to many affluent |
| website. They hold monthly fine art auctions online and | | | | people from the Middle East, so the arts resources |
| find that clients are eager to purchase pieces, while the | | | | seems like a natural progression for the region. |
| prices are still relatively low. Whether buyers are | | | | While the markets may be disparate, they each have |
| looking for figures, watercolor art, oil paintings of | | | | something unique to offer. The international giants like |
| animals or landscapes, Emily Carr or John Geoffery | | | | Christie's can be enticing, but often expensive, |
| Caruthers, Heffel house continues to grow at a | | | | whereas the smaller niches in Canada remain the art |
| surprising rate. | | | | collectors' best kept secret. |
| Australia has a capricious art marketplace, with auction | | | | In an undervalued market, many can find amazing Inuit |
| houses frequently splintering off into smaller operations. | | | | pieces and can buy original art for low prices. Australia |
| The competition of elbow bumping art auctioneers | | | | auction houses have been trying to include more |
| includes: Bonham & Goodman, MossGreen, Joel | | | | Aboriginal art for the history lovers. |
| Fine Art, Deutscher-Menzies, Sotheby's and Deutscher | | | | |