Inside the Auctions

What’s it like to spend millions of dollars at a contemporary art auction? Is there a danger zone where young artists’ prices blow up too quickly? Is it still possible to buy low and sell high? And just what is an auction guarantee anyway?   Step behind closed doors into the hidden world of auctions with veteran art advisor Josh Baer and our friends, Dallas-based collector Howard Rachofsky and Gagosian Gallery Associate Director Sophia Cohen, as we discuss the auction topics you won’t hear about anywhere else.    Join us as Howard tells the stories behind his biggest sales and his biggest acquisitions: the guarantee deal on his $25 million Jeff Koons Balloon Flower; and the bidding war over a Lucio Fontana masterpiece that’s now one of the central works in his collection.    Afterwards, we sit down with Sophia Cohen, who shares her unique perspective as an artist liaison and young collector on the love-hate relationship between auction records and the market for works coming straight from the artist’s studio.    And as the May auction season approaches in New York, remember: Don’t transact without The Baer Faxt, the only report on who bought what in the auction saleroom.