Canvassing for a Deal

Ron and Cathy Mendelsohn dropped by a recent fine arts auction because they thought it might be a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

After two hours, the thirtysomething Mendelsohns walked away empty-handed--but intrigued.

“We’ll probably come again, and buy spontaneously,” Ron said.

The Mendelsohns were typical of the crowd that came to the Park West Gallery auction that was held at the Warner Center Hilton earlier this month.

A Michigan-based company, Park West holds auctions on cruise ships, in hotel ballrooms and at other locations around the country.

Many of those attending the Warner Center event had never been to an auction, and only a handful were prepared to spend serious money.

Chalk some of that up to lack of knowledge and experience. While most people have a good idea of what a brand-name TV or dishwasher should cost, figuring out a fair price for a one-of-kind painting is a trickier proposition.

“It’s buyer beware,” said Jason Keston, 34, of Los Angeles.

Keston maintains that suburban art auctions are great for those people--like himself--who know their art. That’s because the other bidders he’s competing against will overpay for some items and let great deals slip away unnoticed.

“If you are a collector, it’s the perfect crowd,” said Keston, who estimated he owns about $50,000 worth of art, much of it bought at auctions.

Sometimes, the best a novice buyer can do is just bid with her gut and hope that she’s correct.

Francine Hammer, 36, of Tarzana has for years completed puzzles and framed the finished work to hang on her walls.

Then, on a recent cruise to Alaska, she and her mother attended the on-board auction every day and eventually bought a piece.

The Hilton auction marked Hammer’s first land-based auction, and she purchased one of the first items up for bid--”City Serenade,” a serigraph by Russian-born artist Anatole Krasnyansky.

The item was appraised at $1,350--though items at this auction rarely sold for anything approaching the appraised cost. Hammer’s successful bid was $750.

“You really don’t know [if you’ve gotten a good price],” she admitted. “You just want to get it for under the price of the appraisal.”

Hammer’s gone to galleries and looked at art there but finds this way more exciting. “Here, you get a challenge for your money,” she said.

Another successful bidder, Debi Morris, 32, of Porter Ranch, was pretty sure she’d gotten a deal. She bought “Promenade Rouge,” a lithograph by artist Emile Bellet, for $210--significantly under the $895 appraisal. The last time she bought art, she recalled, it cost her $200 just to frame the piece.

But a good deal for the bidders isn’t so good for Park West Gallery, whose profits rise with the purchase price.

Park West’s Tommy Varzos counts the thrice-yearly Warner Center Hilton auction as part of his “territory,” and conceded in a phone interview the day after the auction that sales had been below par.

“Just based on the numbers, it was a slow crowd,” Varzos said. “They were 40% below what the bid pace is usually like.”

As for deals? Varzos said a serigraph similar to one that sold for $675 at the Woodland Hills auction went for $2,000 in Houston two days earlier.

“With the difference, you could have purchased the air fare and back to get to Los Angeles,” Varzos said.