Art Market Gets a New Player: Winston Artory Group, Promising Transparency Amidst Confusion
The Winston Artory Group Navigates a Volatile Art Market
The Winston Artory Group (WAG), a newly formed entity resulting from the merger of Winston Art Group and Artory, is navigating a challenging and volatile art market. According to Co-Executive Chair Elizabeth von Habsburg, the market is currently tough, with significant challenges in valuation and demand.
In an interview with Bloomberg, von Habsburg highlighted the shift in the market, stating that works that previously sold easily are now struggling to find buyers. Public auction results have declined, and most transactions are happening privately, making the market opaque and difficult to gauge. A stark example of this reevaluation is a print that was once valued at $1 million, but was recently reappraised at just $300,000.
Despite these challenges, demand for reliable appraisals is strong, especially from insurers, banks, family offices, and estate lawyers. In today's uncertain environment, accurate valuation is critical. WAG President Peter Loukas expects the firm to handle $15 billion in valuations this year, with nearly $9 billion split between bank-financed collections and insurance assessments.
WAG isn't just appraising artworks; it's appraising the state of the art market itself. The company leverages Winston’s valuation expertise combined with Artory’s blockchain-backed database of over 50 million transactions to provide secure, data-rich valuations. This combination meets the market's demand for reliable appraisals amid ongoing volatility.
Von Habsburg summed up the enduring nature of valuation needs with the phrase: "Death, debt, divorce, disaster—that’s never going to stop."
The remaining balance of WAG's valuations includes estate settlements, generational wealth transfers, and direct requests from collectors. WAG advises 30% of the biggest art collectors in the country, making it a significant player in the art market.
The merger of Winston Art Group and Artory is backed by a strategic investment led by Strobe Ventures, with support from CMT Digital, Galaxy Digital, and the family office of Eijk van Otterloo. The new platform is capable of delivering secure, defensible, and data-rich valuations to a range of clients.
Dealers send information to WAG because they want the firm to share it with their clients. WAG's value proposition lies in its access to information that few others can see, such as private sales data, price lists ahead of major fairs, and dealer data points. Certain categories, like 18th-century sculpture and American paintings, are showing renewed interest, but volume is down, and private sales dominate, complicating price discovery.
In a conversation with Bloomberg, von Habsburg revealed that WAG was once called to review a schedule for a major collector, finding a value of $20 million instead of the initial $3 million. Despite the challenges in the current market, WAG isn't worried about becoming obsolete.
[1] Von Habsburg, Elizabeth. Interview by Pavel Matveyev. Bloomberg, 10 Mar. 2023. Web. 15 Mar. 2023. [2] Winston Art Group and Artory Merge to Form Winston Artory Group (WAG). BusinessWire, 10 Mar. 2023. Web. 15 Mar. 2023. [3] Winston Art Group and Artory Announce Merger to Create Winston Artory Group (WAG). PR Newswire, 10 Mar. 2023. Web. 15 Mar. 2023. [4] Winston Art Group and Artory Merge to Form Winston Artory Group (WAG). Art Daily, 10 Mar. 2023. Web. 15 Mar. 2023.
- The Winston Artory Group (WAG) is not only appraising individual artworks but also analyzing the overall art market, using technology like blockchain to provide secure, data-rich valuations.
- In the volatile art market, where auction results have declined and private sales dominate, dealers value WAG's access to exclusive information such as private sales data, price lists ahead of major fairs, and dealer data points.
- Despite the tough market conditions, the demand for reliable appraisals remains strong, particularly from insurers, banks, family offices, estate lawyers, and collector clients, with WAG advising 30% of the biggest art collectors in the country.
