Coronavirus

Given the government’s strict guidelines on social distancing, what delivery options can art and antiques buyers use during the lockdown period?

There were two in the room when British Bespoke Auctions held a four-and-a half hour sale last week. On the rostrum on April 1, in an office rather than the saleroom (which is closed), was Nicholas Granger. Behind him was Bella, a blue-and-gold macaw who has been by his side for 20 years.

A number of industrial and commercial-focused businesses have operated online-only and timed auctions for some time and have systems in place that allow for very little contact between individuals.

Dealers and trade bodies have been adapting to the new normal caused by coronavirus. For most this means isolated living and remote transactions. However, in a spirit of energy and invention, traders are finding new ways to promote both their stock and their brands online.

The UK art and antiques trade is hastening its efforts to provide a sense of business as usual during unusual times after the UK government requested all ‘non-essential’ firms to close their premises to the public.

Fair organisers were forced into making dramatic changes to their schedule as almost every event in the UK and Ireland was either cancelled or postponed last week, while many dealers were left facing the most challenging conditions for trading in living memory.

There’s an age-old adage that wherever there’s a willing buyer and a willing seller, the two cannot be separated. But the current outbreak of the coronavirus has had more effect in creating distance between these two than anything experienced in modern times.

The Open Art Fair, the new incarnation of what was the annual BADA fair in Chelsea, opened in hugely difficult circumstances on Wednesday March 18.

With the coronavirus outbreak impacting the art and antiques trade, the number of fairs being cancelled or postponed is extensive.