Guarantees

The collection of the late A Alfred Taubman is to be offered in a series of sales in New York, starting this autumn.

A new insurance company are trying to plug what they see as a gap in the market for auction guarantees between $10,000 and $1.5m.

ATG posed a number of questions to Art Auction Guarantee. Here is a summary.

THERE is growing concern in the art and antiques trade about the termination of the cheque guarantee system this summer.

More details have emerged regarding the ‘breach-of-contract’ lawsuit which claims that Christie’s backed out of a $40m guarantee made to secure a Francis Bacon self-portrait for sale.

A LEGAL dispute in the US Federal court over auction guarantees could lead to a tightening of the terms and conditions under which they are issued.

SOTHEBY’S and Christie’s have all but abandoned guarantees for lots at auction. When asked their policy for the coming year, the salerooms said that they were almost entirely eliminating the practice, although they did not rule out using it completely.

Bonhams chairman Robert Brooks has issued a public statement taking a strong stand against the guarantee system following the November art sales in New York and London.