jspira

I've been going to auctions (irregularly, but perhaps more regularly than most) since I was a kid and my father would take me to Christie's or Sotheby's in London. He would always thoroughly research any major pieces he would buy, not only speaking with the expert at the auction house handling the auction but checking with other collectors and experts as well (not to mention his own encyclopedic knowledge esp. when it came to anything in photography).

When I purchase something major at auction, I do the same.

Even though an auction can be fairly fast moving, if you bid by phone or Web (as I typically do more than in person) you won't get quite as caught up in the bidding and you won't go past your maximum bid. It's important to know what you are willing to pay for something and to not exceed that.

I've seen a lot of people get carried away and pay way more than an item could possibly be worth - and they are typically novices, I should add.

hedo_traveler

We have bought "art" on board cruise ships. We like the style of Thomas Kincaid paintings. After purchasing a few on board, we went to a local Thomas Kincaid gallery (since closed) and compared prices with our purchases. The same prints we purchased on board were less expensive than what the gallery was selling them for. We have also purchased some animation cells that our children enjoyed and still have them hanging in their rooms.

Chopalua

Funny how people put their noses down on buying art during a sea auction. While I agree that most of the items up for auction are over-priced and less than interesting, if there was not a market, Park West would not be present.

I've grown up in a household where all of the facets of art was part of understanding life and other cultures, I enjoy art wherever and whenever, including on a ship. My husband and I have purchased art aboard a ship (NCL). The items are beautiful and once properly framed and matted, clearly look like gallery quality.

Art is in the eye of the beholder. Not all artists started glamorously out of a gallery such as Cezanne, Dali, Manuel Lepe or even Gerogia O'Keefe. So for those of you who only consider art valuable when only purchased through a gallery are missing the boat. (No pun intended). Art is located wherever the beauty of imagination is displayed.

BearX220

Two reasons, I'd wager: quality control and liability. Unpleasant pressure or oily used-car sales tactics, to say nothing of low-value pieces, are difficult for a cruise line to control but still hurt their brands. And if a buyer is sold a fake or pays an exorbitant markup for a motel-room print, the line can easily get yanked into a legal fight.

A cruise ship is about the last place on Earth I'd look to acquire art. You're out of your element, in a loopy, spendy mood, your judgment and defenses are down... which is, of course, why purveyors set up shop on board.

If there was not a market for counterfeit Viagra made from chalk, all those "Canadian Pharmacy" websites wouldn't be present either. That doesn't make it an ethical business or a good buy.

cbrown

Hmmm.

Well, my whole house is full of art I've bought on cruise ships. These posts are really discouraging, not because I feel like I've been ripped-off, but because I feel like people here are judging my own taste.

I get a lot of compliments from my friends on the art I've bought (they all refer to my house as "the museum") and I've had nothing but good experiences in buying the art. The only issue I've ever had was a damaged frame, which was replaced.

I've also picked up a few other pieces here and there at other galleries, but I think the most fun I've had buying art has always been on our cruises (two pieces off of Princess Fine Arts and the rest from Park West Galleries.) Of course I didn't grow up going to auctions at Sotheby's, but I also think those auctions would put me right to sleep. It's a lot more fun when the people doing the auction are entertaining.

I guess it's like anything else in the world - you say tomato and I say tomatah...but let's not call the whole thing off!

DeirdreTours

cbrown is right, I am passing judgement on the "art" offerred on cruise ships. I do think it is mostly shlocky, sentimental crap interspersed with possibly fraudalent, clearly overpriced prints. Reading those kind of opinions is part of participation in an online forum. Were I a guest in cbrown's home, I would never say anything judgemental about her decor. Even in the forum world, if cbrown proudly posted a picture of her living room with a giant Thomas Kincaid over the sofa, I wouldn't post a negative comment about the print.

But, here the topic is Buying Art on a Cruise Ship. The poor quality of the art on board is certainly fair game. Clearly, the fraudalent practices of Park West Galleries and the legal trouble Princess has gotten into selling illegal prints with fake signatures are also germaine to the discussion.

For those posters who are happy with their purchases, I say great--That helps clear up for me why the cruise ships continue to offer these dreadful "auctions".

piper28

I've bought on Princess and generally find them to be pretty reliable. I'm not really buying anything real major, and certainly don't consider it an investment. Generally what I've bought Princess has a good relationship with the artist, so it seems kinda unlikely to me that they're selling fakes with those (these artists a frequently on the ships). Obviously, not everything is that great a deal, but I definitely don't feel ripped off by what I've bought, and I've done the research to do some comparisons. Wyland and Behrens are two artists I've been interested in. You couldn't pay me to buy a Nichita or however that's spelled. (Couldn't pay me to buy a Kinkade either to be honest, I did notice that those have started showing up on Princess ships.)

DXjr

I've purchased several cheap pieces off of ships knowing the reputation of Park West, but I'm not buying them as a pure investment; I just simply liked the art, and it was less than $100. In no way would I buy a Max, or similar, as there is no way I could authenticate their true value from a reputable dealer aside from the "trained" auctioneers of Park West. You are a captive audience, and they know it.

BearX220

Great point. It's like buying a used car when the nearest mechanic you trust to check it out is back on dry land. The isolation works against the buyer's interest. A cheap print for fun? No harm in that. Anything more? Crazy.

NEMMRRC

We cruised with Royal Caribbean in Sep 2010 and there was no art auction aboard our cruise. I was disappointed. I was looking forward to the entertainment the auction provides plus the free chocolate covered strawberries we once received at our first Park West auction at sea on Carnival in 2007.

Panam Clipper

We cruised with Royal Caribbean and they had the Park West auctions on the Adventure, which has the "Promenade". We did not buy anything but enjoyed the champagne. On the smaller ships (Radiance, Vision, Sovereign classes) they don't seem to have these auctions.

DXjr

On the Vision class, they do. When I cruised on Grandeur a couple years ago, the lectures were held on the deck 4 centrum, and the auction was held in the South Pacific lounge (deck 6, aft.) I've never been on a Soveriegn class ship, but based on the deck plan and pictures I've found, they are pretty tight ships, so if they do have any lectures and auctions, it'd have to in Boleros and the aft lounge, respectively. As for Radiance class ships, I've never been, but if the Vision class can do it without hassle, then there's no reason why the Radiance class can't do it via the same setup.

TTT103

I have been to the Princess auctions a number of times, although I have not made a purchase. They tend to be fairly informative to an art amateur such as myself.

What I have noticed is that the art tends to sell on the dozen or so cruises that I've been on. The auctioneer will bring out a Dali or similar household name for $20K, but I've yet to see one sell in that price arena. What tends to sell are those pieces under $1K. I have also found that the ships itinerary tends to influence sales. Maybe it's the clientele who sail on a $1,000 Caribbean cruise versus a $10,000 mediteranean cruise.

Oberall, I find the art auctions and galleries to be a pleasant diversion.

cbrown

I've bought all kinds of stuff onboard. I really like my collection, and I've even met a couple of the artists. My friends are always trying to get me to sell them my artwork, and I refuse!

Finally, I had to take one of them with me to an event Park West had in Boston, and they ended us spending more than I did. The funny thing is she didn't buy anything like what she had liked at my place - she ended up buying a really neat looking Miro!

It's a pretty cool thing for people who didn't grow up in the art world.

JDiver

What's this? Thomas Kinkade is now allegedly art?

Most "art" I have seen sold aboard anything ranges from mass-produced and significantly overvalued to absolutely faux - see DeirdreTours' post immediately following - with one possible exception: the Antarctic trip we took with Robert Bateman, who painted and drew some originals on the trip and auctioned them for conservation.

Lectures and the like? Sure!