William Verdult Blog

Verdult artwork - Moving beyond a hope and a prayer.

Verdult artwork - Moving beyond a hope and a prayer.

As we stressed in our post on "William Joseph Verdult - Where's My $5 million?" we are moving beyond just a hope and a prayer in valuing Verdult artwork.

More and more you see Verdult art work and summary of the artist showing up in the data bases of major websites responsible for tracking major listed artist around the world.

In February of last year, we completed a major initiative to get William Joseph Verdult listed on artprice.com which list major artist around the world. In addition to supplying extensive background information on Verdult including the Official bio and Verdult Scrapbook, we provided several hundred background documents not previously released to the public.

Last year in addition to releasing a number of press releases on Verdult artwork to keep the Verdult name in the public's eye, we were also successful in getting William Joseph Verdult listed on Askart.com.

This year are completing arrangements to get William Joseph Verdult listed both here in the United States and in Europe on perhaps the largest on-line organization responsible for tracking Verdult artwork. Not only will this organization include William Joseph Verdult as a listed artist; prices of William Joseph Verdult artwork will be included in the data base as well.

What is the real price of Verdult artwork?

What is the real price of Verdult artwork?

First, let me explain how we initially got into the art business and then I’ll get back to the true price of a piece of William Joseph Verdult artwork.

In 2003 in establishing a public company in a totally separate industry – child care to be exact, we were approached by a gentleman by the name of Dave. Dave was interested in owning some shares of a new public upstart in exchange for some art – some William Joseph Verdult artwork.

At the time, though I did not know much about Verdult artwork, it seemed like a good idea to exchange some stock for art to develop the corporation. The initial intent was to either hold on to the artwork, or sale it to increase the corporation’s asset base.

In looking back, as they say, hind sight is always 20…20, there were two major problems with this approach.

Prices of William Joseph Verdult artwork on Artnet.com and verdultbluebook.com

Actual cash auction prices for William Joseph Verdult artwork unveiled on artnet.com.

Thanks to Wealth Enterprises Corporation, for the very first time since Verdult was noticed and opened his own gallery in 1967; nearly 40 years ago, William Joseph Verdult artwork and "cash sales" of his artwork are being reported by Artnet, a major art repository that tracks trends and prices.

Click to see sales data

Artnet is one of the key places to research fine art online. Artnet online Gallery Network is the largest of its kind, with over 1,200 galleries in over 250 cities worldwide, more than 100,000 works by over 25,000 artists from around the globe. The Network serves dealers and art buyers alike by providing a survey of the market and its pricing trends, as well as the means to communicate instantly, inexpensively and globally.

Artnet’s Price Database is the most comprehensive color illustrated archive of fine art auction results worldwide. Representing auction results from over 500 international auction houses since 1985, the Price Database covers more than 2.9 million artworks by over 180,000 artists, ranging from Old Masters to Contemporary Art.

What does this mean for art lovers and investors holding Verdult artwork? For the very first time the art world has access to official "cash" prices of William Joseph Verdult artwork. Prior to the Artnet and Wealth Enterprises Corporation initiative, of the thousands of pieces of Verdult artwork, there were only four works of art by William Joseph Verdult recorded in any auction house or price repository.

The reason for this is though William Joseph Verdult is a listed artist (see posts on Exhibitions and Listed Artist), Verdult refused to sell his art through second party galleries. Verdult only sold his art through his personally gallery. It is well known that Verdult collectors were some of the elites in Las Vegas and Hollywood. Collectors included Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Farrah Fawcett, Connie Francis and many more (See the Verdult Scrapbook). Later he would take the Pablo Picasso approach and exchange his works for goods and services such as expensive automobiles, boats, and even real estate. Thus Verdult artwork maintained an excellent following in the barter world but not the major art world. During this time no reports of Verdult cash sales were ever maintained by a major art price data base. We believe while this may have been good for a select few, art lovers, investors, the public, and the general art market had no clue of what Verdult artwork was actually selling for or what was the trend in Verdult artwork in the "cash market."

Today and going forward, art lovers, holders of Verdult artwork and potential buyers can get recorded data on "cash" sales of Verdult artwork. This allows Verdult art work to become more liquid and a broader and more diversified and rich market can be developed for Verdult's work.

Wealth Enterprise Corporation's next step is to continue to provide transparency to the Verdult market with two immediate goals:

1) Have Verdult artwork recognized by financial institutions where collateral and other asset based financial products are offered;

2) Have most sales of Verdult artwork recorded on www.verdultbluebook.com; and

3) Have Verdult artwork sold at Christies, Sotheby's or Butterfield's.

Though we do not have a crystal ball, we believe these initiatives cannot help but increase the demand for Verdult artwork. In turn, increase the "cash" price sought and gotten for Verdult artwork.

Artnet Company Background
artnet AG was incorporated under the laws of Germany in 1998. In 1999 Management took the company public on the Neuer Markt of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In 2002 artnet.com AG changed its name to artnet AG. Its principal holding is its wholly owned subsidiary, artnet Worldwide Corp., a New York corporation that was founded in 1989. On October 4, 2002 artnet AG left the Neuer Markt and is now listed at the Geregelter Market at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

If you have questions about the "cash" market, leave a post or send an email.

William Verdult - How do artists set their prices?

How do artists set their prices?
How do we know if the work we buy today will still be important 50 or 100 years from now? Assigning value to contemporary art may be difficult, but much is revealed through a careful reading of the artist's resume. If the artist's resume is not provided by his or her art dealer, you should be very careful about investing in that artist's work. All artists at NextMonet have an abridged resume attached to their profiles. When you add an artist's work to your collection, you're contributing to that artist's reputation and validating their efforts. By becoming a patron of you r favorite artist, you help ensure that the artist will be appreciated for years to come.
The following are important elements in determining how contemporary art is priced. 

 

• Artist's education
• Exhibition record
• Sales history
• Quality
• Gallery representation
• Grants, awards, and residencies
• Reviews

A Tidbit#1 - William Joseph Verdult

Tidbit#2 - William Joseph Verdult

Tidbit#3 - William Joseph Verdult

Artist's education

Many fine artists are self-taught, but in general they learn their craft at colleges and universities. Most large universities have art departments staffed by working artists that offer Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees. There are 30-40 very good degree programs in the United States, and about as many others scattered around the world. Degrees from community college programs tend to carry less weight as an art world credential. Judge the quality of a degree program by its faculty and reputation; good faculty should train and open doors for their students.

Examples of excellent programs include: School of the Museum of Fine Arts; California Institute of the Arts; Cooper Union; Glasgow School of Art (U.K.); Goldsmiths College (U.K.); Hunter College; Maryland Institute, College of Art; The Kansas City Art Institute; Parsons School of Design; Pratt Institute; Cranbrook Academy of Art; Rhode Island School of Design; Royal College of Art (U.K.); The San Francisco Art Institute; School of the Art Institute of Chicago; School of Visual Arts; University of California-Los Angeles; Yale.

Verdultgallery.com Recognized by Christie's and Sotheby's as the place to go for art work by William Verdult

Since 2004-2005, Wealth Enterprises the owners of verdultgallery.com has conducted auctions of William Verdult art. Recognized by Christie’s and Sotheby’s as the place to go for art work by William Verdult, the company has held over 2,900 auctions.

The Corporation primarily auctions Verdult limited edition lithographs and originals paintings created by Verdult. In addition to the 2,900 auctions, the company has contracted with a national independent IRS sanctioned appraiser to assist in appraising and establishing the market value of art by William Verdult.

We have written a number of articles on the value of William Verdult art and how to assess that value.

See:

* Why Should You Own Verdult Art?

* Since 2005 the Growth in Average Sales for Verdult Artwork Increased 206%

* Latest official appraisal of a William Joseph Verdult - July 1, 2007

* The Results are in and the Barracks Lawyer lost Again in assessing artwork by William Verdult

* We get tons of emails asking about the value of creations by William Joseph Verdult

* Ever wonder what your Verdult painting is really worth?

* What is the real price of Verdult artwork?

* Verdult artwork - Moving beyond a hope and a prayer.

* William Joseph Verdult - Where's My $5 million?

* Verdult $35,000 ticked Off Too!

* How is value established for Verdults?

* We thought you ought to know.

Presently a painting entitled ‘King Tut 2007’ is being auctioned on eBay allegedly with the involvement of Habitat of Humanity. The painting is alleged to be valued at $7.2 million.

Verdulgallery.com and Wealth Enterprises cautions the public that no artwork created by William Verdult has ever sold for such an amount or anywhere near that amount. Not even the infamous original King Tut allegedly valued at over $60 million.

The Corporation keeps extensive records of Verdult artwork, and does not want the unknowing investor or art lover to think that such a painting created by Verdult has ever sold for such an amount.

As owners of the Verdultgallery.com brand – obviously – if such an amount were achieved it would certainly benefit the Corporation; but such amounts and claims do a disservice to those investors and individuals who have spent their hard earn money on Verdult artwork and destroys any resemblance of transparency in the Verdult art market.

Though Verdult art like the art market in general has appreciated –– prices of Verdult artwork has experienced double and triple gains – prices have not come anywhere the million dollar level. In the future, the market in general is expected to continue to rise – and we believe so will Verdult art – but not to the million dollar level. We do not want unsuspecting art lovers and investors to think for one minute that this is the case.

As holders of Verdult art, we like most investors want that artwork to appreciate – but at this point in Verdult’s art life cycle – we are not there yet!

So beware of “Johnny Come latelees” claiming million dollar prices – with no proof whatsoever of any such prices on record – either in the past or present.

For a comprehensive analysis of values of Verdult artwork including William Verdult Original Oil Painting "King Tut 2007", email us at mike@verdultgallery.com

Why Should You Own Verdult Art?

Here is our response to a recent email inquiry concerning owning Verdult art:

First let me say that we are not investment advisors and we do not purport to provide you with any sort of investment advice. That said, in the past year or so the value of Verdult paintings have increased two to three fold. This is the same trend in general with the overall art market.

We do not see this value decreasing anytime soon. We have been working with Verdult art work for four to five years and most reputable sites consider our company the experts in this artwork. Our intent is to get the paintings in places such as Christies and Sotheby’s so the true value of the art can be recognized.

We have done a number of things to achieve this goal including making sure that the prices are transparent and working with major art reporting sites such as artprice.com and artnet.com to ensure that Verdult paintings are well recognized and well received.

In addition to the normal appreciation and asset diversification strategies gained from owning art; there are tax advantages as well for those persons that want to participate in a tax donation program. So there are many ways to make money on your investment, it really depends upon your strategy and purpose for the investment.

In addition, please understand that the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) value is established by the artist and or company which can be much different from the actual market.

Most items that we market on Bid4assets return a certified appraised market value by an independent and highly qualified third party appraiser of anywhere between 5 and 12 times the value paid for the artwork.

Overall Art Prices Like Those of William Verdult Art Continue to Head Upward

According to artprice.com the high-profile sales in New York during May and in London during June confirmed the overall market mood: over the last six months, the number of new price records at auctions is particularly high. Indeed these records are the icing on the cake of a market showing a 28% increase in the average price of art since the start of the year, and +133% over the last ten years. The Artprice Global Index is currently 16% above its 1990 level

As one might have expected, the most impressive new records during the first six months of 2007 were generated under Sotheby’s and Christie’s hammers with Sotheby’s making the biggest splash: on 15 May, Mark Rothko’s White Center (1950) fetched USD 65 million... USD 45 million higher than Rothko’s previous auction record. White Center is now the most expensive post-war work on the global art market. On an all-periods basis, Rothko now ranks sixth place among the most expensive artists on the planet, behind Pablo Picasso, Gustave Klimt, Vincent Van Gogh, Auguste Renoir and Peter Paul Rubens. The following day (May 16), Christie’s New York generated another massive new record with the star of Pop Art, Andy Warhol, whose Green Car Crash went under the hammer for USD 64 millions de dollars.

While contemporary and post-war art have been the hottest segments in New York, in London, the rush on impressionist and modern works generated a hammer price of GBP 16.5 million (USD 32,7 million) for one of Claude Monet’s Nymphéas (1904) - estimated at GBP 10 - 15 million - on 19 June at Sotheby’s. Other new records included, on the same day, GBP 9.8 million (USD 19.4 million) for Henri Matisse’s Danseuse dans le fauteuil, sol en damier and GBP 5.9 million (USD 11.6 million) for a gouache by Joan Miro entitled Le Coq. In June, Damien Hirst became the most expensive living artist when his Lullaby Spring (2002) fetched GBP 8.6 million.

These highly-publicized million-dollar records, numbering 135 over 6 months and driven by an ever-growing community of billionaires, only represented 3.4% of the total records recorded by Artprice over the period.

Since 2005 the Growth in Average Sales for Verdult Artwork Increased 206%

Latest official appraisal of a William Joseph Verdult - July 1, 2007

According to our records, as of April 6, 2007 the latest official appraisal of a William Joseph Verdult piece of artwork appraised between the range of $25,000 and $30,000.

We have a number of 3rd party independently appraised works by William Joseph Verdult. The lowest appraised original Verdult we have on record is $16,000. The highest appraised work is well over $100,000.

Regardless of what you call Art there is value in Verdult art

Regardless of what you call "Art" there is value. Value today is based upon supply, demand, and marketing of the art and artist. In the past two years the Corporation has made sure that William Verdult artwork is accepted and well known at the major on-line pricing sites.

In the coming months and years our goals are set even higher.

According to Microsoft's Encarta, Art is the product of creative human activity in which materials are shaped or selected to convey an idea, emotion, or visually interesting form. The word art can refer to the visual arts, including painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, decorative arts, crafts, and other visual works that combine materials or forms. We also use the word art in a more general sense to encompass other forms of creative activity, such as dance, drama, and music, or even to describe skill in almost any activity, such as “the art of bread making” or “the art of travel.” Here  art refers to the visual arts.