«GOOD BUSINESS IS THE BEST ART»

Sotheby’s chief executive Bill Ruprecht said the company’s Impressionist sales last week were “the most profitable in New York since last spring”. This was largely thanks to the virtual elimination of risky guarantees made to owners regardless of whether or not a work sells. Losses on guarantees cost Sotheby’s $10 million in one sale last November, and last week, the company off-loaded the risk on the only guaranteed work in its sale – Picasso’s pipe-smoking musketeer – by enlisting an anonymous third party to guarantee a price before the picture was offered for sale.

-Telegraph
May 11 2009