Buying on auction – What you need to know

Nevertheless, there is no reason to be intimidated, even if you can’t discern a Pierneef from a Portchie or a lithograph from a linocut.

Art auctions are more accessible than ever. Strauss & Co’s team of expert art specialists offers the following easy-to-follow guide so you can ace the art auction.

Let your heart be your guide (but use your head)

Tastes differ and evolve with time. Some collectors prefer more traditional figurative work, while others are more partial to abstract, conceptual art.

If you are browsing through the secondary art market, you are probably looking for a long-term investment that will yield favourable returns on investment (ROI) over the long term. Nevertheless, you must live with the artwork, (unless you’re stowing it away in a safety deposit vault) and like it enough to endure it in your personal space for at least a few years.

Start by browsing through the auction house’s online catalogue and bookmark the lots you like. Keep in mind that your taste also changes with time – you might lose your heart to an impressionist-style still life but find it a bit pedestrian a few years down the line.

If possible, schedule an appointment with an art specialist to view the works in ‘real life’. Ask about their condition, provenance (previous ownership history) and the artists’ recent auction performance. Although no reputable auction house can guarantee any ROI, an artist’s previous performance in the secondary art market will give you a fair indication of possible future investment yields.

Strauss & Co keeps a record of all the artworks sold on its public auctions, and anyone can access the database on the company’s website free of charge. You can compare previous sales, look at the sell rate and calculate the likely escalation of the artist’s value over time.

Set a budget

Auctions are places of excitement and high drama, and it’s easy to be swept away in a feverish bidding war. Let us say you’re eyeing a William Kentridge etching but don’t want to spend more than R30 000. Strauss & Co allows you to submit a commission (or absentee bid) that sets a maximum amount for you on a lot. The auction house will then bid on your behalf until your maximum bid has been reached.

Strauss & Co prides itself on offering a range of works by blue-chip artists that will appeal to all pockets. If you have your heart set on a Sekoto or a Preller, you do not have to take out a second mortgage or plunder your kids’ education fund. Here it’s all about understanding the different art mediums, and how they relate to monetary value.

‘Medium’ refers to the materials or methods that an artist uses to create a work of art. In painting, the medium refers to both the type of paint used and the surface to which the paint is applied. Artworks made with oil paint or acrylic on canvas are usually valued higher than works on paper because the paper is more vulnerable to damage and deterioration over time. Works on paper might be paintings in watercolour or gouache, or drawings in ink, pencil, or pastel, for example.

Original, one-off artworks are the most highly prized, but artists’ editioned prints are a great way for novice art collectors to build up a reputable portfolio of blue-chip artists quickly and without spending as much. With editioned prints, the artwork is reproduced using etching, lino, lithograph or screenprinting techniques so that there is more than one version of the artwork.

But the edition is strictly limited and each print in the edition is individually signed and numbered by the artist. For example, a print might be number 24 from an edition of 100 prints and this will be indicated by 24/100 being written in pencil in the margin. There will only be one print in the edition with that specific number.

Oil on canvas works by an artist such as Walter Battiss has sold for over R2 million, but his screenprints are more affordable, with recent sales of under R30 000. A quality, in-demand print by a renowned artist sometimes makes for a better investment than a mundane oil painting.

Understand the terms and conditions

In the catalogue or on the auction house’s website, next to the information about an artwork it might say, for example, ‘R30 000 – R50 000’, but that is not a selling price, it is only the range from low to high estimate in which the artwork is expected to sell.

The in-house art specialists who appraise a work base these estimates on factors such as condition, provenance, and recent auction records of comparable pieces by the same artist. The estimates are only a guide – occasionally, works sell for less than their low estimate, and some pieces have sold for twice or even triple their high estimates at recent auctions, it all depends on how many people are bidding on the day, and how much the specific work is in demand.

Let us say you manage to put in a successful bid that falls within your budget. The amount the auctioneer announces when he bangs down the gavel is known as the ‘hammer’ price. This is not the final price that you will pay ­– every auction house charges a buyer’s commission, which is added afterwards to the hammer price.

For example, at Strauss & Co, for ‘live’ auctions the buyer’s commission is calculated at 12 per cent for lots selling over R20 000 and 15 per cent for lots selling at or below R20 000. For ‘online-only’ auctions it is calculated at 15 per cent for all lots. All buyers are also obliged to pay 15 per cent VAT on the buyer’s commission (but not on the hammer price).

How to register for an auction:

Go to straussart.co.za

On the home page select the auction you wish to bid on.

Click ‘REGISTER TO BID’.

Enter your details in full, then complete the process by ticking the three boxes confirming that you have read the Conditions of Business.

Your bidder number will be displayed in the green box.

You will need to be approved before you can start bidding so please allow a few minutes for this process to happen.

You will receive an SMS once you have been approved. You are now ready to bid!