WHALLEN OT COmDanY nas TEs offices in Geneva, is registered in Panama, insured in London and banked in Bermuda; makes Is purchases and issues financial statements in dollars. and trades Is shares in Swiss francs? Answer: an art inves ment tune TOURTCO The Panama registration is useful because. as Note G of Modarco's 1975 financial report says, 'Under present legislation in Panama the company is not subject to corpor ate or other taxes'. Modarco's art collection is conservatively valued at $20 million.
Modarco is typical of what the Whole are markers aDour Maxmum speculation in any art object — be it an old master painting or a signed tin can of artist's shitwith the minimum return to State or society.
The artist as creator and manuproduct nas unusual degree of control over his work. But once his painting or sculpture is on the market it may disappear - often for years → to circulate between dealers, auctionand collectors, changing hands at a profit for all involved - except or course, me artist find a Bond Street dealer to promote us or ner work ne or sne must expect to give the dealer a commission of around 50 per cent. Since the trade is only interested in the artist's product, the presence of the artist becomes a liability.
An artist might much Tor me marker 1o ocar 01 "lose their talent' - which means that the artist's recent work is be ing rejected by collectors and the market price is declining, From the art trade's point of view, the only good artist is a dead artist.
The dealer's trade is mostly export. In the case of contemporary art, exports account for 90 per cent or sales. Ine trend is towaras quoting prices only in dollars, Swiss rancs or berman MarKs so as to avoid constant repricing in discredited sterling Every run on the lire also sends a wave of Italians to the art markets of Europe. While in Britain the art Trace deny with monotonous Iceu larity that speculation is a motive encouraged.
One magazine issues half-yearly rebors on the markers or conten porary artists. Each subdivisions such market history; characteristics; Current situation; Market *produce too History of auction prices; Circulation of forgeries (forgeries being the bane of the art world).
Although the art trade would happily strip the entire country of every art object if it was profitable, it closed ranks with the country's wealthiest 1 per cent in the battle against the wealth tax, and echoed the chorus of protest at this supposed threat to our national heritage. In tact the would have allowed a measure of tax relief for works of art made available to the public - and a work or art avanadie to ine pubne is not available to the art trade.
Hugh Leggatt, a London dealer, became secretary to an anti-wealth tax pressure group called rentage in Danger'...
LeetaL was Chairman or a com" mittee set up to encourage the sale entry has ed. Meanwhile they as: Notes General market market distribution; proposed tax one si works of art. at the same time, blatant speculative jungle.
Britain's 1 percent have been victorious: the wealth tax is shelvhave won another victory in the new capital transfer tax, which is replacing estate duty: works of art which form part of an estate are con ditionally exempt from paying any The conditions are such that in order to make beneficial use of this escape clause' one would have to be very rich indeed; but being very rich one could end up paying very little tax through the simple expedient of transferring a large part -estate no 2l-cused Recently British Rail's pension fund purchased a number of old master paintings for investment. It paid prices that sent the dealers and auctioneers laughing all the act as way to the bank, but this is the least disturbing aspect of it. Far worse is the collusion of a state organisation in capitalism's most I wish you to print my categorica Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'La Promenade", sold last November for £682,000.
As commodities, works of art completely - unproducue repositories of capital, generating no. tax or revenue and providing minimal exployment. Speculation in land is governed by legislation Inal prevents ine wiider type of vitch's statement, come etect adventure; nothing governs the art market, which hides behind the alibi of art and manipulates the critics, museum curators and art 'experts" into backing its cynical