Art Auctions

[oliverbc]

What happened? Sailed on the Zaandam April 10 and no auctions. It was one of those regulars that werefun to attend. I even bought art on the last cruise and love it. Anybody know?

[brucory]

See this similar thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1399072

 

:)

[Hlitner]

That link does explain some of the problem. Most of the art auctions on ships were fun, but they were also somewhat of a scam. Many buyers were satisfied with their purchases and had no issues. But others (particularly those who bought more expensive items) later found out that their works were not worth anything near what they paid. A few years ago we met a professional art appraiser (on a cruise) from Atlanta who said he had been called to appraise many estates that had some works from cruise ship auctions. He said that from a resale point of view most of the cruise ship art were near worthless. Many are so-called limited edition seriographs and lithographs that have little value (although they might still get a decent appraisal for insurance purposes). We will admit that we enjoyed attending some of the art auctions, but we usually ended up laughing at the actioneer (rather then with him) at some of the ridiculous claims made regarding value and price. One of my favorite pet peeves are the works of Peter Max, who many of us remember from years ago. Some of his originals are worth a lot of money. But most of the lithos and serios are not very valuable. In fact, if you want to have fun go to E-bay and type in Peter Max. You will find loads of his stuff on e-bay and most do not even get a single bid.

Hank

[kazu]

In the old days, the art auctions offered some value. I remember when we sailed NCL and Zamy Steinovich was onboard and did a painting on the cruise. In hindsight, I wish I had bought it.

 

Now, the paintings all seem the same to me. A lot of Peter Max and modern stuff that might appeal to some but does nothing for us.

 

We skipped it last cruise - even the 'free champagne' - the nice thing used to be the little lithographs they gave out. I have had many of them framed and used them as auction items for my various charities and they have done quite well.

 

They were fun once, but since the changes, we can do without them.

 

Perhaps something else can replace them?

[Hawaiidan]

How about a fortune teller...... and someone who sells magic beans..:D

 

The beans ought to retain more value than the art, because after you realize you have been "had" you can cook them up and eat them, or plant them !!! Unlike the "art" which is as others pointed out, worthless.

[Richie2pies]

The free champagne is nothing but headache water. If they never had another auction, it wouldn't bother me. In fact, it might be better for the enviornment as there would be less paperwork to put in the trash.

[Krazy Kruizers]

truthfully -- we will not miss them

[jp2001]

I like art auctions since you can often discover new artists and learn a little about art in general. I have purchased a few pieces but nothing too expensive. Once it was 2 small lithographs that are worth about what I paid (but on internet, there is no way I could have known how much I loved them and the quality of those lithographs) and after I came back from a trip where I bought a bigger lithograph from a Montreal painter (auction price 190$ + shipping = about 280$ if I remember well), I checked it out on Internet and I ended up saving about 40% so I was very happy (unless it's a false one but it looks real and I'm not planning to sell it so I am happy).

 

Also, I still bite my fingers that I didn't purchase an original painting from a French female artist that I love (not my favourite painting though) at ONLY 300$ but I just had purchased my first house and had it comes with a lot of extra expenses that I passed on this great opportunity. Oh well, I learned from my mistake.

 

I would NEVER buy a very expensive piece without having it appraised by a professional that I would have hired myself (not that I would have this kind of money anyway).