The sums that art buyers are willing to spend online have crept up, reflecting a pragmatic shift that has occurred across the economy during the pandemic.
Only a month ago Saleroom reported that the comfort threshold for online bidding hovered around $50,000, with a couple of notable exceptions five and six years ago. But in the space of two weeks we’ve seen an internet bidder pay $190,000 (hammer) for the 20.246 carat “Wakil Emerald” at Smith & Singer’s online jewels auction, and another collector rise to a $100,000 internet bid for Del Kathryn Barton’s portrait of Hugo Weaving at Deutscher and Hackett’s inaugural solo online auction last week. While a phone bidder ultimately bought Hugo, spending $220,000 (hammer) for the 2013 Archibald Prize winner, Deutscher and Hackett’s executive director Chris Deutscher says there is no doubt that online bidding has risen to new levels.
