Sorry to read this. Sleep well.

No offense but you’re collecting for all of the wrong reasons.  Only buy art that you love and not as an investment.  Furthermore whom gives a fuXk what your kids think down the line?  I think the one you purchased is beautiful and is a true stunner.  The art market is very fickle and who knows what will happen in the future.  I my wife and her husband all applied.  Not one of us were offered the chance to buy so consider yourself, family, friends very lucky.  

Did the framers advise that frame? I would have personally left a breathing space and gone for a tray frame, probably with around a 5mm front

This is probably a pass for me.

I was sent this - they didn't even show me the painting I was allocated.




I emailed back to ask what picture I had been allocated. They emailed back:



Like others have said, it feels like the paintings are being knocked back several times then offered out to the remainder of the list. However, it feels very sloppy to not even bother to show which painting in the original email. Maybe they only decided which one to send after I asked.

For context, I own no art worth much. I think my most expensive piece is a $700 print. In my application I told them this would be my first original artwork.

After reading this thread I'm thinking maybe this shouldn't be my first ever piece? Advice welcome!

It’s actually quite a good one. All depends if you can afford to buy it. Not worth selling a kidney for though!

Personally in your position I wouldn’t buy it. It’s alot of money to throw into one piece if you don’t have a big collection. There are far better ways to spend to $25k and safer bets at auction right, a lot of primary releases at the moment haven’t adjusted their pricing to reflect the state of the market. As there are 900 of them, there is a good chance secondary prices could end up below cost in the near term, the fact that it’s over 4 months since they closed applications and they’re still offering them out doesn’t auger well.

Guess they learned their lesson from the UP shipping debacle. Funny, my Currency
painting was shipped in nothing more than a thick envelope. 
 

Yeah bit of a bloodbath, the days of buying emerging artists and selling their works before the paint drys seems to have run its course. That end of the market has been hit really hard, as you say it's funny how loads of galleries are still pretending there are waiting lists for these artists when half a dozen paintings a quarter are going to auction and all being passed. 

I guess , insider sale
Auction house was very keen on the reserve price

As soon as I saw that high estimate, it was obvious it was going to sell

I wouldn't like to speculate (but I will a little), personally I doubt it. However, there was no way with the drop not even fully allocated that this was going to pass, so entirely possible it was bought back into inventory to protect the sale of the rest (which is entirely legitimate if there's no collusion between the parties). I reckon someone just made a big turn, won't ever be able to buy Hirst again but pocketed close to £40-50k setting a high reserve and knowing it was likely to get supported - clever, even more so if they used a proxy. Of course there's always the possibility that someone with more money than sense liked it and paid well over the odds, when there are dozens available secondary at less than half the price. No comment as to what is the most likely scenario, but either way the result should be given limited weight right now.

My personal view is that if you bought a good one you'll do well medium/long term and if so minded could make a turn now, but these are not all created equally, some simply aren't as good quality as others. Notwithstanding the quality I wouldn't be rushing out to buy one of these at anywhere near the price this sold, if you're getting quoted more than £40k walk away and for some even £30k. For a good one £32-35k is the price until the market settles and 900 of these get absorbed into serious collections.