The Cache of the Days

“We’re at the mercy of death, divorce and debt,” said Christopher Burge, chairman and chief auctioneer of Christie’s New York, reciting “the three Ds” that keep auction houses supplied with artworks--year in and year out, regardless of the market.

New York’s spring auction season opens next week with sales of contemporary art at Sotheby’s and Christie’s Tuesday through Thursday, followed by Impressionist and Modern art auctions May 12-16. As usual, there’s a wide range of material available--from a pair of drawings by Los Angeles-based artist Mike Kelley estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 to a painting by Italian Modernist Amedeo Modigliani estimated at $8 million to $10 million.

But it’s the deaths last year of New York collectors John Langeloth Loeb and his wife, Frances Lehman Loeb, that have delivered the most coveted goods and provided the most excitement. Landing the Loeb collection has given Christie’s a fabulous cache of 29 artworks expected to bring a total of $76 million to $98 million.

At the Loeb sale, on May 12, Burge will offer Paul Cezanne’s classic painting “Mme. Cezanne Seated in a Yellow Chair,” valued at about $25 million; a self-portrait by Edouard Manet, posing with his palette and brushes ($15 million); a Cezanne landscape, “View of l’Estaque,” and a pastel drawing, “Seated Dancer in Pink Stockings,” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (each estimated at $8 million to $10 million)--along with works by Paul Gauguin, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and other artists, expected to command somewhat lower prices.

The Loebs, who made their fortune in banking, built their collection in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Their will required their heirs to sell the art to establish a philanthropic organization, the Frances and John L. Loeb Family Fund, which will support programs in education, health, family planning, art and public policy.

Although auction houses would welcome the Loeb collection any time, it appears to be going on the block at a particularly opportune moment for the sellers. The art market--at least as it is publicly seen in major auctions--has made a slow but steady comeback since it peaked and crashed in 1990.

At the market’s zenith, on May 15, 1990, Christie’s sold $269 million worth of Impressionist and Modern art, including the late Japanese industrialist Ryoei Saito’s $82.5-million purchase of Vincent Van Gogh’s “Portrait of Dr. Gachet.” The following night, Sotheby’s racked up $286 million, and Saito paid $78.1 million for Renoir’s “Au Moulin de la Galette.”

But the record sales disguised a slump that had already begun. In November 1990, the total take for comparable auctions plummeted to $92 million at Christie’s and $84 million at Sotheby’s. It got worse the following May, when the “big” Impressionist and Modern art sales brought a paltry $23 million at Christie’s and $18 million at Sotheby’s.

But speculators have long since vanished from the auction houses. Meanwhile, prices for prime material have edged up as the market has stabilized and confidence has returned. With considerable help from the Loeb collection, this season is shaping up as “the strongest spring since 1990,” Burge said.

Even those who aren’t governed by “the three Ds” are putting good material on the market and new buyers are appearing at the auctions. “We’ve come to the curious moment in the cycle,” he said. “People aren’t saying, ‘Oh, gosh, I remember 1989.’ They are wondering, ‘How much longer will this go on?’ and thinking, ‘I should take advantage of it.’ There’s a definite sea change.”

On May 14, two days after the Loeb sale, Christie’s will hold its traditional sale of Impressionist and Modern art, consigned by a variety of sellers. With notable works by Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Constantin Brancusi, among others, it’s expected to bring $88 million to $119 million.

Sotheby’s is also looking forward to a successful spring. Its major auction of Impressionist and Modern art, on May 13, comprises 67 pieces valued at a total of $76 million to $105 million. Among the most important pieces are 20th century Austrian and German works from the collection of dealer Serge Sabarsky and paintings by Modern masters acquired by St. Louis collectors Richard and Florence Weil.

Also at Sotheby’s, 44 works from the personal collection of the late sculptor Henry Moore--ranging from drawings by Georges Seurat and a Cezanne painting of bathers to African and pre-Columbian sculpture--provide insight into the artist’s taste and interests.

At the contemporary art auctions, Sotheby’s expects to realize $19 million to $26 million in sales Tuesday night and Wednesday. Christie’s has estimated a total of $30 million to $42 million Wednesday night and Thursday, including 22 sculptures from the collection of television producer Douglas Cramer valued at $2 million to $3 million.

The contemporary artwork bearing the highest pre-sale estimate is a painting by a perennial favorite, Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. His 1962 work, “Blang,” depicting a military tank charging into enemy fire, is valued at $3 million to $4 million.

No one is predicting the auctions will go wild this spring. The clientele has broadened, but--unlike the days when speculators bought art in bulk--it’s rare for a single collector to purchase more than one piece from a sale, said Alexander Apsis, head of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern art department.

Indeed, Burge credits “a consensus of value” and “a remarkable lack of inflation” with restoring the market’s vigor.

Buying art at auction can still be fun, as it was in the ‘80s, he said, “but it’s not sexy and the thing to do, which means the brain-dead people aren’t part of it.”

Most buyers get professional advice, he said. “It’s a much smarter market. People are prepared to spend for something very good, but there’s a very happy balance at the moment, which I’d like to continue. I hope we can keep the fashion and froth out of it for a long time.”