LONDON — After two days of torrential rain, I woke up at 6am this
morning to bright sunshine, surely a sign that all would be well. But it
would appear the gods were in favor of Brexit. As soon as I checked my phone, the sad news
of our country’s decision hit home; texts from fellow insomniacs ridden
with expletives reinforced my grief and there has been talk of nothing
else since. As of this writing, the sun is still shining, but everyone
remains downcast — none more so than the Londoners, whose boroughs came
out overwhelmingly in support of staying in the European Union. Even
David Cameron, once a hated figure, elicited some sympathy as he
announced his resignation
this morning. And though all are angry with the decision, the
disappointment with our countrymen supersedes it all. In the hours after
the referendum’s outcome became clear, our feeds were filled with
messages of mourning and only half-joking intentions to leave the UK. A petition
was even started to lobby London mayor Sadiq Khan for the city to
become its own state, to stand apart from a country we no longer
recognize as our own.
As the day unfolded, politicians who voted to leave backtracked on
false promises and we were confronted with Donald Trump’s smug smile as
he descended
on his luxury golf course in Scotland. There was sympathy from the
Germans, the Italians, and the French, as well as rallying cries from
those countries’ own nationalists calling for further referenda across
the continent. Scotland, which held its own referendum for independence in 2014, is set to call another in the wake of the Brexit vote, and there was even talk of the reunification of Ireland. So what does it mean for us?
I, for one, will be renewing my long-expired Italian passport post
haste, while my brother is taking it one step further and considering
emigrating. “I feel devastated,” he told me. “We can emigrate if we
want, but I’m torn … I don’t see things ever getting any better, but I
don’t want to leave this country to rot in the hands of fascists as it’s
the people who can’t afford to leave who will suffer.” London-based
artist Will Jenkinson
also voiced plans to leave. “Before the referendum, I had already
planned to relocate to Glasgow due to the soaring rent prices in a city
that feels like it’s being sold off to the highest bidder without any
concern for the people and their communities,” he said. “Now the result
of the referendum confirms that the views of the majority don’t align
with my own. … At times I have found the propaganda used by the press
unbelievable.”
Beyond anger with the right wing press, there is also much ire aimed at the older generations,
the conservative parents and grandparents who benefitted from the baby
boomer years of plenty and left future generations scraping by and
saddled with student loans. One particularly callous diagram making the
rounds on Facebook calculated the average age of those who voted out and
how long they would have to live with the decision.
As the value of the British pound dropped dramatically, it was obvious we’d made a huge mistake, and no number of Arrested Development
memes could make it better. Many artists in London who are already
accustomed to uncertain incomes are increasingly concerned about the
effect Brexit will have on their lives. “I woke up this morning in a
country that makes me feel sad and scared, not proud and independent,”
said illustrator Charlotte Trounce. “I’m
starting to worry about how a recession could affect my work and income
and I will definitely consider whether it’s right for me to stick
around.”
London is winding down for the weekend and it feels like any other
summer evening, but tonight there will be talk of nothing else in the
pubs and squares of our capital. We will anxiously await news of the
immediate steps in the long process of Brexiting and try and muster up
some optimism for the future of our country.
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John Constable’s “View on the
Stour Near Dedham,” will be offered in the Defining British Art sale on
Thursday at Christie’s in London.Credit
Jack Taylor/Getty Images
As
the world’s leading auction houses prepared for their big-ticket
contemporary sales in London this week, the question was on everybody’s
mind: What will the shock and confusion following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union — not to mention the plunging world financial markets — mean for the art market?
Until
now London has been regarded as the capital of the European art market.
With many in its commercial art world supporting the position that
Britain should remain in the European Union, a pall has unmistakably
been cast over the proceedings. Some lots may be withdrawn this week at
the last minute by nervous consignors, because uncertainty is not good
for any market — including art.
Several
experts predicted that fewer pieces would come to market in Britain in
the near future because of the fall in the value of the pound.
“No
one is going to be selling much in the U.K. now because sterling is so
low,” said J. Tomilson Hill, an executive at the Blackstone Group and
longtime collector of Renaissance and postwar art. “So the supply is
going to dry up — particularly in the Old Masters market.”
But
people in the art world maintained that previous convulsions, like the
collapse of Lehman Brothers and terrorist attacks, had proven that art
can persevere as an asset class, even in hard times.
“When financial markets are in turmoil, the art market offers a safe harbor,” said Christophe Van de Weghe,
a Madison Avenue dealer. “The roiling of the currency markets will have
a similar effect. Generally, the artworks that would have done well
without Brexit will do well despite it.”
And
some dealers are downright bullish on Britain’s decision to leave the
European Union, pointing out opportunities for global art buyers. Guy
Stair Sainty, director of the Stair Sainty gallery in London, noted that
“art prices set in pounds will effectively have fallen for foreign
buyers.”
Brett
Gorvy, Christie’s worldwide chairman of postwar and contemporary art,
also sounded an expected note of optimism. “People come into the market
because they want to go with hard assets,” he said, “things they can
trust more.”
Photo
Francis Bacon’s “Version No. 2 of Lying Figure With Hypodermic Syringe,” which will be auctioned at Christie’s.
And
Edward Dolman, the chairman and chief executive of Phillips, said the
weakness of the pound should lure “Asian and American buyers in
particular.”
So
far, the auction houses seem to be pressing ahead as planned, with
their contemporary evening sales — featuring a Rudolf Stingel, estimated
at $1.4 million to $1.8 million at Phillips on Monday; a Sigmar Polke
at Sotheby’s, estimated at $5 million to $6.5 million, on Tuesday; and a
Gerhard Richter, estimated at about $14 million, at Christie’s on
Wednesday.
Christie’s
is holding a special sale to celebrate its 250th anniversary —
“Defining British Art” — on Thursday night, at which Francis Bacon’s
“Version No. 2 of Lying Figure With Hypodermic Syringe” (1968) is
estimated at about $20 million and Lucian Freud’s “Ib and Her Husband” (1992) at about $18 million.
Art
world experts say that while the referendum passed, the changes will
not be immediate, and the uncertainty raised by Brexit merely cements an
aura of caution that had muted the art market during predictions of a
softening.
“It
insulates England and this cannot be good for any creative energy,” she
added. “But, at the end of the day, it is more about the quality of the
works offered next week and the appetite after the May sales and
Basel.”
In
2015, Britain captured 19 percent of the total value of global auction
sales of art and antiques, according to the TEFAF Art Market Report,
published in March. This was by far the largest share among European
countries, with France the next highest at 5 percent.
One
of the many questions posed by the Brexit vote is how Britain’s auction
houses will be affected in the long term by renegotiated trade
arrangements with the European Union. Will lots temporarily imported
from the European Union be subject to duties or taxes that might deter
sellers and buyers?
At the moment, artworks sourced outside the European Union can be subject to so-called “import VAT” (value-added tax) of as much as 20 percent on the hammer price.
Sotheby’s, in a statement, said that it would “continue to thrive in and adapt to whatever environment Brexit brings.”
