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- Art Biz Bits from ABX: Heather Fraser, David Whittaker
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ART BIZ BITS London, ABX - 'Poster art' gains acceptance - and value How do you increase the market value of art? Write a book about it. Though not specifically intended to have that effect necessarily, the prices of film posters from the 1960s shot up after the publication of Tony Nourmand and Graham Marsh's book on the subject, so the same maybe about to happen for 1970s material when their new book, Film Posters of the 70s, goes on sale next month. By highlighting the "essential movies of the decade," in effect canonising the most important works, the advertising posters of those films are given a boost in market value and collector demand. The poster for Goldfinger, James Bond's 1964 outing, was worth £300 before receiving the 'classic' tag from Nourmand and Marsh, for example: now it's up to £1000. But it's not just posters that benefit from increased study or literature. Other books on collectables, as well as fine art, have had market-making power, with glass and china notable areas. Similarly Sir Denis Mahon's collection of 17th and 18th century, mainly baroque painting was put together for £50,000 around the middle of this century, and when he left a large part to the nation in a notorious bequest last year, the overall value was estimated at ten of millions. This increase in value was at least partly due to Sir Denis' own scholarship on the art of that period which had previously been considered uninteresting and hence overlooked. This ability to 'make a market' for art has been a feature of the trade ever since its emergence in its modern shape during the last century, with such as Victorian paintings, the Pre- Raphaelites, and some 20th century movements coming in for increased attention and valuations. In general, parallels between posters and paintings are fairly consistent, with 'old master' remaining a fairly reliable investment and the volatility of prices increasing in inverse proportion to their age. The most expensive movie poster to date was the £283,500 paid for one of only two known examples from Boris Karloff's 1933 film 'The Mummy,' and such venerable classics are the Hollywood equivalent of a Giotto or Giorgione. The same rules for collectors still apply, however, and you should never buy a work for its investment potential - only because you love it. And as the current round of depressing 1980s revivals seems to be spreading, it's only a matter of time before that decade's memorabilia makes it to the auction rooms. Maybe paintings will get a look in again one day? ART BIZ BITS London, ABX -- A less than enigmatic smile? "Is the task of museums not to present works in the closest state possible to that desired by the artist? Should one intervene in a painting only when it is essential, to preserve it? Is a word, is the Mona Lisa untouchable?" So asked Le Journal des Arts this week, as experts considered a 'virtual restoration' of the world's most famous painting. A laboratory in Turin has produced a digital image of Leonardo's portrait illustrating what they believe would be improved if the layers of yellowed varnish were removed from the original canvas. The 'cleaned-up' Mona would glow with pearly skin, have golden highlights in her chestnut hair, and the "aerial perspective of the enchanted landscape" in the background would be returned to its original blues and greens. Unsurprisingly expert opinion is divided on the issue, and the debate has been stimulated by the Louvre's decision to relocate the painting in its own £25million room, paid for by a Japanese TV network. The move won't happen until at least 2001, but some feel it is the ideal opportunity to carry out the cleaning of the painting in readiness for a triumphant unveiling in the next century. Da Vinci pioneered complex and subtle techniques to achieve the precise and delicate finish that made the picture so famous, and it is the delicacy and thinness of the original paint that makes restoration such a dangerous prospect. "If you want to drive a restorer to suicide, ask him to tackle the Mona Lisa," said the Louvre's former head of restoration. But Neil MacGregor, director of the National Gallery in London, said "the yellowy fog of long-deteriorated varnish prevents us from seeing and appreciating" the work. A view supported by Mark Leonard of the Getty Museum in LA, who also believes cleaning would "transform our understanding of the picture." Nothing is going to happen for a while, however: "I'm afraid there's absolutely no question of restoring her in any way... She does look a bit yellow, but fundamentally she's in magnificent condition - and the Mona Lisa is famous the way she is now," confirmed Jean-Pierre Cuzin, the Louvre's current head curator of paintings. "Once she's in her new gallery, properly lit, you'll see a different painting." Whether the patrons of her new home will be happy with Mona's appearance remains to be seen, but when you're paying millions for the shop window, it usually helps if the goods on display look their best.
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