A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

But first…

Over the last few years, I’ve occasionally remarked—only half in jest—that advisors have become the main characters of the art world. Pioneered by just a few enterprising individuals, the advisory business has grown from a niche client service to a serious industry in its own right. Now we look to advisors not just for their insight on current market trends, but also their input on what collectors should be buying.

Even so, there are still only a handful of advisors operating in the eight- and nine-figure end of the market—where the Klimts, Mondrians, and Picassos trade. And in many ways, the advisory business remains as mysterious to outsiders as the art economy itself. So for Puck’s Art of Influence summit, we curated a panel of three top advisors to discuss the current state of the market and their growing roles within it. Patti Wong of Patti Wong Associates, Brett Gorvy of the Lévy Gorvy Dayan gallery, and Wentworth Beaumont of Beaumont Nathan told us how they each built their businesses, what clients look for in an art advisor, and why the industry needs to lower barriers to entry. The following interview, adapted from our conversation in September, has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Making the catalogue available and suggesting one or two pictures was where I started. There was no email; I used a fax machine. What’s interesting is, I almost always got a response. People might come in and say, Well, I didn’t like what you suggested, but how about something else? That’s how I learned about people’s taste, and I would always pitch it a little bit higher the next time. So we grew it from three to 20 to a hundred to thousands of collectors. I’m very happy to have witnessed that.

Brett, tell us what’s going on in New York.

Brett Gorvy: It’s very interesting hearing Patti’s perspective, because she’s talking about growing a market, but it’s also about individuals. There’s this idea that we’re dealing with a massive world and huge communities, but when it really comes down to it, it’s actually a very small number of participants who are affecting the market at the highest level.

Art always follows the money. One of the reasons I joined forces with Patti [to establish advisory firm New Perspectives Art Partners] was to bring that knowledge and expose our collectors to as much knowledge as we can get. I also realize that in this market it’s about collaboration. Sharing ideas, and more importantly, sharing knowledge, is actually one of the most important things you can give to a collector today.

Wentworth, what’s your point of view?

Wentworth Beaumont: I think the fundamental challenge for this industry is how we encourage meaningful new entrants. Obviously, there are many factors we have absolutely no control over; but I do think that there are some that we do. Relative to the proliferation of wealth over the past 10 years, I would say we’ve done an okay job—not an excellent job—at bringing new people in. And I think that’s one of the big fundamental questions facing this industry in its next iteration.

As advisors, do you view bringing people in as your role?

Wong: Collectors come to us. You can’t force someone to do something until they’re interested, but no one wants to engage in a field where there aren’t any new entrants. The more people we have engaging, the better. There are a lot of young people now that are collecting, actually amassing a collection. Maybe it’s game-worn sneakers and whatnot that the traditional collectors haven’t previously collected. We should really be encouraging people to do whatever they like, whatever appeals to them and is relevant to their time.

Gorvy: I think we’re all trying to encourage an audience. As a gallerist, you have an even greater need to bring people through the door. One of the biggest challenges we all faced after Covid was actually getting someone to physically come into a space and get rid of all the fear of being in a gallery. I think an auction house can be similarly [fear-inducing] to walk into. It’s about how we get a new generation and a younger generation through.

Beaumont: Bringing new clients, and cultivating people from the outset to become the best collector they can be, is a big part of what we do and what we’ve done over the last 11 years. We break it down into three things: curatorial advice, commercial advice, and the experience of the collector. It’s probably that third pillar that we—the industry collectively—need to think a bit more about. We hear about the lack of transparency, about it being a sort of closed environment. I don’t think there’s a magic answer to this, but at heart, this is a pursuit of passion, a pursuit of intellect, and an aesthetic pursuit. And we need to remember that it’s fun. We need to make sure it’s an aspirational place for new entrants to want to come into and stay.

Wong: Art advisory as a profession is very new in Asia. People are not really understanding what it means, and [what it means is] actually access to information and access to great art. Having said that, the collecting journey is cumbersome. Managing your collection—the shipping, the insurance, etcetera—also needs solving. We take care of that for them and make it as painless as possible, so it’s purely about learning, acquiring knowledge, acquiring great art, and alleviating the headaches.

Do people come to advisors with the mindset of, If I work with you over time, you’ll be able to help me define what I want, and where I go with the collection?

Gorvy: You’ve just described why someone would work with any one of us as an advisor. It’s both that access point and having someone along on their journey—someone who actually allows that person to develop their own taste and their own direction themselves, and not just have the input of a designer, ready-made collection. To have an art advisor, ultimately, is giving them a degree of comfort and knowledge. It’s becoming more common.

Wenty, you’ve been spending some time in the Middle East. What do you think of the region’s potential to be the next big source of market growth?

Beaumont: I definitely think it’s got good potential. It’s also incumbent on us to bring along the collectors in the region, introduce them, and make sure it’s a very good experience for them. I was interested in listening to Patti describe the mountain of back-office stuff that we have to deal with. For me, the absolute key to this is trust. Trust in the knowledge, trust in the intel they’re given, and trust in the numbers and valuations in what is a quite opaque world for newcomers to come into. Trust is the absolute essence of a successful relationship.