Actually, yesterday was not just a celebration but the last antique fair and the last auction of the year. I think we pulled it off, just about. It was interesting (although limiting) to combine the auction with the fair - with both advantages and disadvantages in abundance. I suspect we'll incorporate some of those changes into 2011 but that's not for now. For now I'll concentrate on drinking the strong cup of coffee that Beth has just made for me.
One of our more interesting lots from yesterday was a hand finished limited edition John Myatt print - which didn't sell, unfortunately. John Myatt (born 1945) is a British artist and convicted forger who, along with John Drewe, perpetrated what has been described as "the biggest art fraud of the 20th Century" producing and selling copies of works by Masters such as Chagall and Matisse as originals through auction houses including Christie's, Phillips, and Sotheby's. He was convicted of fraud in 1999 and sentenced to one year in prison (though serving just four months). Following his release, Myatt became a collectable artist in his own right with his 'original fakes' selling for upward of £45,000 His hand-finished and signed limited edition prints are highly prized too - ours was a Monet "Morning on the Seine II" (pictured) with a reserve of £2,000. Our bid yesterday was short at £1,800 - most frustrating! We'll now look for a private buyer.
2010 has been a mixed year for Barnes Auctioneers. There have been some enormous setbacks, not least the robbery in October that could well have sunk us - although unlike the Titanic we managed to limp back to port. The economic climate too has been depressed but again, I think we have weathered the storm. I am already aware of some massive hurdles to clear in 2011 and no doubt we'll clip a couple but then that's what we are about - taking on the biggest challenges and managing to succeed when it most looks like we're going to fall. Our business is a drama but that's how I like it. It doesn't suit everyone - bit part players come and go - but we've never set out to be mainstream. Just because we do it with a glass of gin & tonic in one hand and a packet of peanuts in the other doesn't mean we don't do it with aplomb. Even our bitterest rivals concede that we have a little something...
I'd like to make a couple of predictions for 2011 but before I do I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank my team for all of their support this year. They have been magnificent throughout and knowing that they are with me for 2011 makes those challenges seem that bit easier. I'd like to thank our customers too and everyone connected with The Cloisters Fair - our bread and butter for sure. I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. Most of all I would like to thank Beth - she's backed the right horse but sometimes it's difficult to see the winning post with so much going on. Of course, I may well only be fit for the glue factory by the time the race is finished. But the race will be won - if this business were World War 2 it would be 1940 but at least we know we are the British...
So - ten predictions (some work related and some not) for 2011
1) Barnes Auctioneers will double in turnover
2) One of the 'Big Three' auction houses in Norfolk will shut down
3) A new auction house will open for business in Norwich
4) The Coalition Government will fall resulting in another General Election
5) A previously unknown Norwich School painting will be discovered in an attic somewhere
6) Margaret Thatcher will receive a State Funeral (mixed emotions about that one)
7) Two of my closest friends in the antique business will get married
8) A holiday for Beth and I - somewhere hot and romantic
9) A change of location - into the city centre for our office and for our home
10) An unexpected ally will reinforce our Eastern border
To all of you (well, not to those of you I don't like - just those of you I do) - have a Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year - and thank you for your friendship and support in 2010.
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