It
has been a long time since the last issue of the
mam/fa newsletter and we have been happy
to learn that some of you actually look forward to
receiving it. In this age of postal overkill this is
nice to hear. We will continue to publish on an
occasional basis when we've accumulated enough
news to make it worthwhile for all concerned. As an
added treat, we are doing our first four-color issue;
some of the illustrations are so important, we didn't
think black and white could possibly do them justice.
This column will deal with
questions and concerns most frequently communicated
to us by collectors and investors seeking our advice.
The biggest issue at the moment is the crisis in
Mexico and how that will affect the market for
Mexican art. It is not possible to have all the
answers, of course, but judging from the past twelve
years it appears that the market has risen steadily
and that prices will hold and rise in the long run.
In the short term, some prices will probably drop,
especially for artists whose market is unilaterally
Mexican, e.g., Dr. Atl or Claussel. For artists with
worldwide markets like Tamayo, Rivera and Kahlo, the
situation is rosier. Still, Mexico provides the
backbone for some of the highest prices achieved by
these artists (consider the record prices for Mexican
art set at auction in the last year) and bidding
against foreign collectors will be doubly expensive
for Mexican collectors in the next set of sales.
Also, many Mexican collectors are considering selling
artworks to raise cash for investment in the low
stock market in Mexico right now, so increased supply
may provide some bargains for alert collectors of
Mexican art. The best advice continues to be to buy
what you like and to be aware of prices and quality.
Certainly there will be some opportunities to buy
well in the next year or so but it is always unwise
to buy any work of art simply because it's a bargain.
This advice is sound no matter what the market is
doing.
