Chapter 15

Hotel High Jinx And The

Scummy Seas

Today's art market has given birth to one of the most

sinister trends in art history... The traveling cruise ship

art auction.  While it has done wonders for the popularity

of art buying, it has cursed the careers of countless artists

and deceived millions of unsuspecting patrons.

What the cruise ships' auction people do is look for

art publishers who are struggling financially. They will then

approach these publishers and make an offer to purchase

large quantities of back-stocked editions.  Unless the

publisher is going totally under they will sell only unpopular

editions, which have been sitting around collecting dust.

Publishers in financial trouble too often find this as a

ready source of cash. The cruise lines will write a bulk check

purchasing these limited editions at values so low the

pieces can be auctioned at one hundred or two

hundred dollars per work and still make quite a

tremendous profit.

The paintings will be framed in a very inexpensive

way and sent out for auctioning. The cruise lines also rent

hotel conference rooms in mid level hotels around the

country where they invite a database of collectors from the

cruise auctions to participate in another auction just for

them in their local town.

The hotel and cruise line auctions will often use

frames which are going out of stock or may no longer be

available. It is usually the case where the client ends

up having artwork arrive with a frame looking