A Picasso backed by the Costco guarantee
An original crayon drawing by Pablo Picasso sold Wednesday for $39,999. At Costco.
Since last March, Costco has been in the art business -- online. By visiting costco.com and searching under “fine art,” buyers can access a list of artworks for sale by Marc Chagall, Amadeo Modigliani, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque and others. On Wednesday, prices on the ever-changing list ranged from $21.49 to about $1,500, for a limited-edition lithograph.
With a click of the mouse, you can add art to your cart.
But earlier this week, it was the last offering on the list that was making waves: the Picasso drawing, authenticated by Picasso’s daughter Maya Picasso with a photograph of a handwritten and signed declaration provided to the buyer. The Picasso was the most expensive artwork offered on costco.com to date, a Costco spokeswoman said.
The drawing, offered on consignment by art dealer Jim Tutwiler of Orlando, Fla., was still listed at 11 a.m. Wednesday -- but by 12:30 p.m. PST it was gone. “That means it’s sold,” a jubilant Tutwiler said in a telephone interview. Last year, Tutwiler sold another Picasso drawing through Costco for about $35,000. The dealers ship the artworks directly to their customers.
Ginnie Roeglin, senior vice president overseeing ecommerce and publications for Costco, confirmed that the Picasso had sold. Unlike items sold on EBay, buyers do not bid on products offered online by Costco, so the drawing sold for the list price.
And, like all Costco products, Picassos may be returned for a full refund if the purchaser is not completely satisfied. “We do the same typical Costco guarantee that the artwork is in good condition, that it is authentic, and for any reason whatsoever, a buyer may return it with no questions asked,” Roeglin said.
As with all Costco returns, the customer does not have to present a receipt. With the Picasso, “We know who purchased it,” she joked.
Both Tutwiler and Roeglin say the relatively new partnership between Costco and the fine art world is a good one. “We have a fairly upscale membership base, we like fine art, and because we offer great savings over typical gallery prices, what we have tends to sell rather quickly,” Roeglin said.
Tutwiler said the “Costco guarantee” protects not only buyers of blenders and tube socks but purchasers of fine art as well. “Costco.com is a much more legitimate venue than EBay, “ he said. “Maya Picasso would freak out if I were selling a piece like this, with her signature on it, on a website like EBay.”
Tutwiler acknowledged that he didn’t actually quiz Maya Picasso about her attitude about EBay. “I don’t know Maya personally,” he said, “but I’m just not going to sell original art like this on EBay.”
Informed of the Costco-Picasso relationship, West Hollywood art dealer Louis Stern of Louis Stern Fine Arts praised Costco for its return policy, which he took advantage of recently after the purchase of a toaster. “Costco has an excellent reputation,” he said.
Still, Stern said he believes most serious art buyers might feel that their purchase was somewhat tainted by the Costco label. “Everybody knows you bought it at Costco,” Stern said. “For most art buyers, part of the flair is where you buy it, who you get it from, the dealer who knows what the collector likes and dislikes.
“I had a Picasso show, and somebody looked at a drawing and wanted to know all kinds of things about it. To me, the trading of fine art is a very personal matter.”
Stern also said that it’s difficult to tell exactly what you’re getting with only a photo on a website. “The real problem is, we’re talking about a very subjective thing, the value of a work of art, where a lot of different factors come into play: condition, subject matter, authenticity, provenance.”
For that reason, he said he not only would not buy a work from costco.com, he wouldn’t sell there either. “I want to keep my reputation intact, and it would garner more notoriety than I want to deal with -- no offense to Costco,” he said.
Manny Silverman, owner of the Manny Silverman Gallery in Los Angeles, had only one question about buying art on costco.com: “I guess I’m just wondering if Wal-Mart can beat their price,” Silverman said.
