"Without the vast overheads of auction houses and galleries, the leaner, nimbler, more discreet advisory model chimes with a cautious market. "Many of us advisors have thought, what about a Super Advisory firm: taking five specialists from different departments in the auction houses and putting them to work without the overheads," says Josh Baer, author of the Baer Faxt trade newsletter and himself an art adviser."
"They may not have the expensive glory premises of big galleries, but advising can be big business, with the biggest players akin to portfolio managers. Baer points to "the biggest art advisory event in history"-when Sotheby's bought Art Agency, Partners (AAP) in 2016 for $85m. The advisory firm had been co-founded by Amy Cappellazzo (former chair of Christie's post-war and contemporary art department) and the adviser Allan Schwartzman only two years before."
Major auction houses shed staff amid a prolonged bearish market, prompting senior auction specialists to form lean "super advisory" firms. These advisories operate without gallery or auction-house overheads, reducing fixed costs such as expensive premises and travel. The model emphasizes discretion, specialist expertise, and portfolio-style management for collectors. High-profile transactions, including a major auction-house acquisition of an advisory business for $85m, demonstrate market demand for advisory services. Several former auction executives have launched independent firms that leverage long-standing industry contacts and departmental expertise to compete more efficiently and nimbly in a cautious art market.
Read at The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
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