Auctions are trustworthy.  The sellers are experienced, the adequacy of the prices of the works and their authenticity is ensured. Prestigious auction houses include namely and valued art experts and specialists to their work, ensuring a guarantee to the works they sell in this way. It is normal that if to offer a work to sell to some namely world auction, which already has an expertise confirming its authorisation, the auction house may not accept it and will use their own confidant experts for additional expertise. Most of the worthy authors in the category of “Rubens-Van Gogh” are not possible to sell on big markets without the approval of certain experts or without certain publication. One of those is the catalogue of Rasionné, which is a generally recognized comparative list of all the known authentic works of one or the other author one is interested in. Raisonné catalogues are often compiled by a large group of art historians during many years. The works have been worked through and brought out in a way that they offer important and almost irrefutable auxiliary material for sellers and experts in their work.

The history of regular auctions in Estonia dates back to 20 years ago. Random auctions have taken place here and there over the years, but art sale was more thoroughly focused on at the end of the 90s. One of the best known by today is Haus Gallery, which was the first to start with auctions in 1997, and Vaal Gallery. But the oldest auction houses in the world were already created in the 17th century. Although it could be thought that one of the first ones was one of the two auction giants, Sotheby’s or Christie’s, whose biggest selling rooms are now in London as well as in New York, it is actually not true. The oldest auction house was opened in 1674 in Stockholm and it was named Stockholms Auktionsverk, next to which in Sweden also stands Bukowskis with 150 years of experience. It is notable that the last one has also sold Estonian art over the years, especially by the authors, who ended up in Sweden due to WWII – Eduard Wiiralt, Eerik Haamer.

The auction houses of small countries have always had their own role next to the big names of the world market. Everyone in their own culture space has also mostly dealt with their own antique objects and selling valuable art. Small countries especially show how the local culture feeds the roots of that country. People trade with what has become history and by which it is possible to feel yourself and your past more clearly and determine your belonging to “somewhere”. The question of cultural belonging in the public world may seem as something inevitable and unavoidable that loses its importance but nevertheless, the cultural behaviour speaks differently. Every small country still valuates art as the legacy of their history next to the huge world trading, which liquidity has not gone anywhere. Another sign is also that Estonian art interests and it is bought by many foreigners living in Estonia in order to consume local culture in a local room, which also makes sense. The analysis circuit of cultural behaviour as an example of art as an indicator is a completely different topic at this point. Art auctions play the role of a very powerful indicator not just reflecting the changes of culture mentality, but also the economic situation. “Buy during bad times, sell during good times” is also good advice here. Art has never lost its position by being one of the most important, but at the same time incomprehensible and emotional and complicatedly valuable investment objects. I also cannot imagine Estonia without any galleries just as many of us cannot imagine home without any art objects. Whether it expresses the wish to deposit your money or create beauty around yourself, it does not change the fact.

Auctions in Estonia take place during two seasons, spring and autumn, usually in April and October, and they take place in real time. There are not that many auctions and art events that they would start to interrupt each other, they rather complement each other and bring more attention to a common topic. The traffic of world auctions and art events is busy and the sellers need to keep a lot in mind in order to be successful and not to literally get in someone’s way. Next to other parallel and competing auctions, such important art sale events like prestigious and valued art fairs with long traditions also need to be considered. The most powerful ones are also forced to make changes in their schedules even though the most important auctions usually take place according to developed tradition and sale calendar, where the works are exchanged according to topics, epochs and art movements, and the buyer knows from year to year during which month the art interesting them is offered.

The latest change of the Christie’s auction house can be brought as an example, when it was announced that the art auction about post-war and contemporary art planned for June is cancelled and this topic is hereinafter focused on in March and October. This year the post-war and contemporary art auction will take place in London on 6 October in order to fit in with one of the most notable contemporary art fairs in the world Frieze, which takes place in London at the same time and brings together a large amount of people interested in art. Spring-summer grandiose art events of the world were also decisive to which the audience can gather to: Biennaal in Venice, Documenta in Kassel and Athena, art auctions in New York and fair Art Basel i.e. events, which the art audience of Estonia could also add to their culture calendar and visit if possible.

When characterising the orientation of the world’s art market, one comment can be brought out by the president of Christie’s auction house, Jussi Pylkkänen, who confirmed that Christie’s makes changes in their calendar by first and foremost keeping in mind the convenience and needs of the global audience, which is their way to lead the market. Bigger and more important ones create the rhythm and smaller ones move along. If to delve into the art world through its business side, through sale events, auctions, fairs and galleries organised by prestigious galleries, it is one unbelievably attractive world, which could also encourage our art audience to move and play along in this more actively. Art will undeniably create emotional additional values to life and delvers get to add one important, smart and aesthetically enjoyable tool to their analysis and evaluation’s arsenal.

The season of art auctions has begun in Tallinn. Bigger agents are setting their choices to home pages and to the walls of galleries. Follow the information, visit the exhibitions and edify the senses. 

Haus Gallery has cooperated with the new Web magazine Edasi (in English Forward) (Edasi.org) for 5 months. In the weekly column we talk about something interesting and noteworthy in the field of art to Estonian readers. The Forward way of thinking, positive world view, intelligent journey with the reader through meaningful moments, slow journalism, which offers counterpoise to the racy information barrage, which invites to stop, feel and think along just as art inspires Haus Gallery to write stories for Forward.