THE ADAA ART SHOW (New York, Feb. 20-24)

The opening of The Art Show, organized by the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), was Wednesday night, with a total attendance of 10,000 collectors and dealers. The gala preview brought in 2,000 people at $500-2,000 a ticket. All told, $1.5m was raised for the Henry Street Settlement: not a bad haul in the worst snowstorm in 40 years.

I went to all the booths late Friday afternoon, and here's what sold: 3 Stephane Couturier photographs, a fabulous Vija Celmins drawing (would someone mind telling me where that came from?), 3 Richard Prince photographs (at $100,000 for two, and $220,000 for the other), a 9"x9" Agnes Martin drawing (titled, which is supposed to be a big deal) at about $350,000, two Olafur Eliasson editioned metal sculptures at $47,000 each, a plaster book by Steve Wolfe at $125,000, every Richard Tuttle at $50,000, a Cornell, a Grosz, some Ray Johnsons, a Walter de Maria for $60,000, and a big Roszak.

It is more than possible that other pictures sold on Saturday and Sunday, and more often than not, things sell after the sale. One never knows the octopussian reach of the art fair.

I was told by the dealers that Thursday was pretty much a mausoleum, but the spin was that the dealers were able to spend a lot of time with serious people. You tell me. I'd rather have people knocking each other down in my booth to get me to write an invoice, but that's just me, and I admittedly have rather peculiar proclivities.

One New York dealer who has been in business for 25 years said that he felt prices were often 25-30% above retail. Undeterred, collectors still bought.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

As the Reign of Terror begins, with Sotheby's and Christie's as the Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI of the auction world, artnet has stepped into the outsized-commissions-breach with artnet Online Auctions.

As any Robespierre knows, the major auction houses won't even look at properties in the $10,000 range (which artnet happily will). With artnet new online auctions, anyone of any rank-or-file can lighten their load, get into fighting shape and be ready with newfound cash if any art short-selling begins.

You'll never feel stupider than if you hold out for unrealistic prices, and you can replace the inventory you didn't sell at a fraction of the cost you paid when you were the hold out. As Sotheby's and Christie's become insufferable auction killjoys, artnet is ready, willing and able to serve up the cake.

Fees are literally nominal, and don't be surprised if this peripeteia causes artnet to supplant Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips over time.

I started as an artnet non-believer and was quite truculent with Bill Fine when I began my artnet subscription, but to my utter bewilderment, have sold millions of dollars worth of art to perfect strangers on artnet. I have to believe their auctions will also outperform expectations.

Stay tuned for more art fair news next month with the Armory Fair starting on March 26th, plus our analysis of how art can work as a hedge against inflation.

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