Art as an investment

Obviously, there is alot of uncertainty in the economy, and in general, many collectors are more cautious, and less active than usual. Many areas of our gallery trade are being affected by this. We are doing a fairly brisk business in Asian art right now (having become a bit of a sub specialty), with international collectors, via the internet. This helps, as the economy is so much stronger in Asia, Australia, and parts of Europe.

Having said that, the strongest area of our gallery trade, in the past year, has been in Tamayo print work, with collectors here in the U.S, and abroad. It seems, many of the collectors who have been acquiring this work feel that it is a good hedge against all the uncertainty out there, and certainly a good investment. I keep hearing that over and over from a fairly wide swath of collectors, from all walks of life. The general sentiment seems to be that if I can get the right Tamayo print, at the right price, in very good condition, and very nicely framed, from a gallery who really stands behind their work, it is a good place to put some cash.

Excellent prints by Tamayo represent a blue chip investment. They will more than likely appreciate dramatically over time. One of Tamayo's paintings entitled "Trovador", which was done in 1945, recently set a record for the highest price ever paid at auction, for a Latin American painting, at the Christies sale on May 28th, 2008, when it sold for $7,209.000.00.