When we started the Skinner Antiques & Fine Art Auctions blog in 2010, this was one of my very first posts. I continue to rely on the same excellent websites for art, antiques and collectibles news. Over the past two years, I’ve added several new sites to my retinue of regular morning reading about the antiques auction market. You can find links to all of these resources below.
Morning Reading: Finding Market Insight Online
Steeped in an industry that covets the antiquated and obsolete, I’m fascinated with how new technologies and antiques not only coexist, but how auction houses, antiques dealers and museums can use 21st century innovation to validate & promote the products of the 18th, 19th & 20th centuries. In the 19th century the Industrial Revolution brought new technologies and a vast number of new consumers. What similarities are there in today’s world?
I try to keep an ear to the ground, whether that means chatting with local dealers at a preview or trolling online for web-based versions of familiar magazines and trade papers, or more and more newer resources with unique angles. Here are just a few of the sites that I frequent to gather varied views of the antiques trade, the changing landscape of collecting art & antiques, and market trends:
1) ARTFIX Daily — A good place to start for top stories spanning topics ranging from record-setting auction results, to upcoming exhibitions and reviews.
2) Rare Victorian — A blend of informative resources for Victorian furniture, furniture makers & forums.
3) The Young Antiques Collectors — Addressing an issue we’re all thinking about: there must be young collectors out there, whether they know it now or not.
4) Antiques Trade Gazette — International news on auctions, the art market, and trends.
5) The collecting section of the Financial Times — Insight into the economics and trends of the art market with in-depth reporting on select sectors.
6) Art Market Blog with Nic Forrest — Frequent and timely posts on the art market, cutting through the hype with clarity.
7) Anonymous Works — For a little diversion, a fascinating view of folk art, craft, quirky collecting and what America saves.
Learning the market from those with an insider’s perspective is your best bet for staying on top of auction trends and finding great values at auction. Then just follow your taste—let your eye and your heart be your guide.