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Market Analysis
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Holden Collection is among the most important collections of regional material culture ever assembled. Rarely have collectors exhibited such laser focus on their own regional history and culture, and done so with such a methodical and scholarly approach.
As it happens, their region, Louisiana (which historically, stretches up the Mississippi River to at least St. Louis, Missouri), is a region filled with passionate and deep-pocketed collectors. While much of the Americana market suffers from a shrinking market and stagnant prices, the market for antiques and art from Louisiana, and the American South more broadly, is very strong.
A brief history of the Louisiana antiques and arts market:
It is worth a few words to provide an overview of the market for Louisiana material over the past twenty or so years. Like Americana across the board, the 1970s through the 1990s was a time of booming sales and incredible prices. For Louisiana, it was a time of discovery and growing passion. Unlike places like Boston or Philadelphia where collecting and study had been well-established for decades, little scholarship was taking place prior to this time, but pioneer researchers, such as Jessie Poesch and Carl van Ravenswaay, and early collectors like Felix Herwig Kuntz and Dr. George Crozat inspired tremendous interest in the study and collecting of Louisiana antiques and art. In the early 1980s, New Orleans auctioneer Morton Goldberg established an annual sale devoted to Louisiana antiques, and today, the Louisiana Purchase Auction continues, now as part of the annual calendar of Neal Auction Company.
Shortly after the turn of the 21st century, just as the rest of the antiques market was beginning to cool down, in Louisiana, things were about to get really hot. In May of 2003, the collection of the late Dr. Crozat of Houmas House Plantation was sold, setting numerous record prices, and bringing national attention to the early fine and decorative arts of Louisiana.
Looking back fifteen years, it is clear that the Houmas House sale was the high water mark of the Louisiana market. The market remained electric for several years, even enduring the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was not until 2008, when the national economy crashed and the American antiques market ground to a near halt that the Louisiana market softened. The rest of the market began its recovery about 2010, but by that time, the Louisiana market was already bouncing back with enthusiasm with the publication of the landmark volume Furnishing Louisiana: Creole and Acadian Furniture, 1735-1835. It was also about that time that the Historic New Orleans Collection established the New Orleans Antiques Forum, a conference that now sells out only hours after tickets go on sale, speaking volumes to the passion of Louisianans for their material heritage.
While it’s true that an aging collector base and changing collecting trends has affected the market for Louisiana’s antebellum d ecorative arts, it remains one of the most vibrant regions of the American marketplace.
For a more thorough history of collecting in Louisiana, see Cybèle Gontar, “Furniture Collecting in Louisiana,” in Antiques and Fine Art, September 2011 (available here: http://www.afanews.com/articles/item/1054-furniture-collecting-in-louisiana#.W0S8rNJKjIU).
The Holden collection in today’s marketplace:
Jack and Pat Holden
Fair Market Value for Non-Cash Charitable Contribution
Appraisal Report
Effective Valuation Date: 00/00/00 page 12 of 851
Andrew Richmond PO Box 2199 Marietta, OH 45750 740.760.1788 andrew@wipiak.com