My Word Christmas 2014

In the past month I have been in New Orleans, Tucson, Chicago, and St. Louis, so we welcome the holidays and a chance to catch a breather. 2015 looks to be even busier with continued unpredictability in the market place. In our next newsletter we shall evaluate the recent auctions in New York and Paris. Sothebys continues to do an amazing job in marketing African and Oceanic art. Many of us have mixed feelings about whether their success is a good thing or a warning sign of things to come. It certainly appears that new less knowledgeable buyers from other areas have greatly impacted rising prices, which then significantly influence future expectations of collectors, dealers, and yes even the auction houses. We can only hope that we are not watching an elaborate game of musical chairs. The Myron Kunin sale at Sothebys certainly exceeded expectations grossing  $41,617,500.

For 2015 we will certainly be covering changes from Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Government on repatriation issues. Again we strongly recommend following the newsletter available at http://committeeforculturalpolicy.org/ for up to date information on many of the issues impacting the art world.

On an optimistic note if you are a passionately collector but can't afford the top of the food chain, I believe there will be great bargains available in the coming year. Many financial experts are predicting a market correction in 2015 which will undoubtedly have an adverse impact on the art market. This will create opportunities.

Unfortunately there are only a few weeks left in the runs of the Polynesian show in St. Louis and the Indian show in Kansas City. The latter will move on to the Met in the early spring but this is the last venue for Mike Gunn's show. At the very least get the catalogs for both of these which have objects that will not be in the States again for a very long time.