Investing Over the Net!!
My blog of Friday spoke of the first investment I made using the net to buy at auction. Of course I used images to buy elsewhere and the blog today speaks of the following investment done over the net within one day and at a distance from London to Montreal.
December 2003
Oh brother, second time out the Internet excites!
Apostolos Geralis
(Greek, [1886-1983], Very successful figurative painter of peasant Greek women and men in their domestic chores. Auction price range £1500- 25,000)
16th December 2003, IEGOR Quebec, Canada – 10th May 2004, Sotheby’s London
How did I miss that paintings auction? My, my! It was supposed to be Christmas in a few days’ time, but for myself that was the time to hunt for a bargain, if there was one in Canada. Most people were getting into a festive mood, but I was still at work and looking for investment opportunities all done from home and all enjoyable. No time to waste. The sale was in twenty-four hours and I had just a few hours that Saturday to arrange bidding, if anything was of interest. The time in Montreal was about four in the afternoon.
Similar Geralis painting in our exhibition of 16th November – 18th December 2015 on net and London
One after the other the paintings were not for me. I was not disappointed, but then there had to be a Greek painting and a bargain somewhere. I felt it. I expected it. How was that? Instinct? Hope? Stupid expectation? Who knows what it was!
There! Once again, there was Geralis, this time the better-valued younger brother of Lucas, Apostolos Geralis! What a lovely painting of a peasant Greek woman at 3000 Canadian dollars, or about £1500. I liked the painting and loved the price. I estimated the painting to be worth well over £3000. I had to buy. That was my chance to buy a beautiful Apostolos Geralis and I was not going to miss it. First time once again! Excitement, thrill, wild thoughts of profits and riches! Greedy guts!
The arrangement to bid on the phone was set in motion immediately. No need to waste time, no research needed, no prices to be checked. I had everything in the memory bank.
Great expectations just before Christmas! Another bargain purchase, an unexpected Christmas present from Canada! Another bout of anxiety, worry and suspense! Was that my first purchase? Rather my thousandth one, but it felt like the first. Could I purchase another good Greek painting in the next twenty-four hours? Was I the only investor in Greek art? It was unbelievable. Either the whole world was asleep or I was daydreaming. Was I the only one digging for treasure or was I perhaps digging a financial grave by investing 80% of my money in Greek art? Which one was it? I was pretty sure at the time that it was treasure. I was one hundred percent sure of the rewards of investing in Greek art, but was I too full of myself and bullish?
Sunday night arrived so quickly that I had no time to worry or fret about bidding any more. Having splashed £25,000 on other purchases in October and November there was very little left to bid on the Geralis. Nevertheless, I hoped that not too many people had seen the painting and that the reserve would be the winning bid. The call from IEGOR could not have come earlier.
“Mr Constant,” the voice over the Atlantic, as clear as a bell, “two lots to the Geralis.”
Immediately the bidding started, I knew I was the only bidder and that the Geralis was mine. At £1500 the beautiful Apostolos Geralis was indeed a Christmas present from Canada. By the end of December the painting was hanging up on the wall at home and I was enjoying the art of an artist I had dreamed of buying for years. A peasant Greek lady busy with the chores of the house filled me with pride and joy. I deliberately stared and stared at the painting in admiration. I knew I had to cash it in soon and therefore I had to make the most of it while I could. It was a short-term investment, a moneymaking exercise, which hopefully would work in my favour and assist me in my plans for the Olympics.
