. Image courtesy of Sotheby's.
Under the loosened rules, auction houses no longer have to identify when a third party has a financial interest in a lot . They also do not need to disclose whenFurthermore, auction houses now have more freedom in how they set estimates. Previously, they were not permitted to set a reserve, or the minimum price at which a consignor has agreed to part with a work, above the low estimate, in order to more faithfully capture the market conditions.
“It’s surprising but I would be equally surprised if the major auction houses practices were to change very much as a result,” one attorney said. “ “I expect the creative use of guarantees to continue, and I don’t expect greater transparency into those financial arrangements,” he said. “This is a significant concern to buyer and to price stability in the market.”f the auction houses throw caution to the wind and act as if the art market is suddenly the Wild West, they’ll start to lose the confidence of their purchasers and/or consignors,” art advisor Todd Levin said.
Why?