Halloween is a time to take stock of all the pleasantly spooky stuff surrounding us. Every year, it is comforting to know that Halloween will be the same. Oh, sure, the costumes change based on the news cycle. The offerings of candy available in bulk are always slightly different. The marketing is relentless. The prices fluctuate. But as a holiday goes, Halloween is pretty stable.

There is comfort and security when the things we are accustomed to don’t change. When they are not buffeted by the winds of capitalism, politics, or whimsy (well, maybe some whimsy).

Historically, auction houses and the auction trade have fallen into that category. Stable. Familiar. Comfortable. And yet within the last few years, even that has begun to change. This weekend saw fresh headlines that an asset management firm had bought an auction house—from another investment firm, no less. A venerable house, flipped, like a commodity, once every five years or so to satisfy stockholders and investors.

It is not the first example of auction houses being bought. For years now auction houses have been merging and being acquired, being enlarged to be able to offer more material for sale, often at the expense of providing less expertise.

In this latest round, according to The Art Newspaper, a trio of seasoned auction veterans were removed from their positions and “replaced by three business heads with no apparent art or luxury world experience.” Rather, the newcomers carry “a proven track record of success in serving high value customers in marketplaces and steering through periods of change.” Corporate jargon for high-level account managers. Just what I am looking for in my auction house! (Not.) Guns, butter or widgets, anyone? Just make the machines run faster and produce more.

Maybe it’s the inexorable march of the future. Maybe AI will soon be doing all the authenticating and cataloguing at the houses that prioritize volume over quality. Maybe having hundreds of auctions a year to meet investor expectations will become second nature one day. I might be old fashioned, but I’m not yet ready to have my cocktails mixed by a robot—or to have the algorithm on my phone tell me what work of art to buy next.

I see Swann as the antidote to the algorithm. Moving forward. Not backwards. As with other market leaders, our technology is cutting edge. But what we continue to embrace is the markedly stable way of running an auction house. Providing excellent material to interested collectors, institutions and the trade. We are a company of collectors. For collectors.

Swann Galleries is rapidly approaching our 85th anniversary and is run by the same family and the same principles as when we were founded in 1941. And as always, I welcome you to explore our myriad auctions and see for yourself if you don’t already know.

Resolutely yours,

Nicholas D. Lowry
President