It’s fascinating to see how changing social and intellectual values directly affect changing monetary value at auction.
Traditionally, craftsmanship, classic design and artistry stood at the forefront of sales in the form of Regency furniture, Georgian silver, as well as Old Master paintings and drawings.
Today, while Old Masters are still highly valued at the top end, changing tastes and dwindling supplies of the best material mean that these disciplines have faded into the background when it comes to bidding.
Replacing them are the bright, brash new designs of leading fashion brands and digital art and its associated features. Trainers (in the US: sneakers) now command five- or even six-figure prices, with collectors displaying them proudly in stacked perspex boxes. Designer handbags by Gucci and Birkin change hands for eye-watering sums, while NFTs, still so loosely understood by many of those swooping down to acquire them, sell for millions.
Status has always been a driving force behind the acquisition of high-end art and objects – nothing shouts rich and successful like having a Warhol or Van Gogh on the wall – but what has become the cult of self in society today, with its social media influencers, reality TV and celebrity culture, has helped shape what has become most desirable in the salerooms.
What will come next? Will there be a backlash against all this self-indulgence? Perhaps we will return to some of the more traditional values, and with that overlooked gems such as Victorian watercolours may come back into vogue…
