Galleries hope record support auction will lift Estonia’s art market

Estonia’s autumn art-auction season is getting under way, with galleries hoping a record-breaking support auction by the Estonian Artists’ Association will bring new buyers to the market, ERR reported.

Vernissage gallery’s autumn exhibition features both classical and contemporary artists. Its oldest work is a 1916 watercolour by Eduard Wiiralt, alongside pieces made this year. Gallery owner Kristiina Radevalli said the support auction held earlier this month had drawn significant attention to art and brought new clients and art enthusiasts.

Allee gallery is presenting more than 260 works across two venues, making this its largest auction exhibition to date. The selection includes works that have returned to Estonia from abroad after many years, as well as pieces by well-known artists that have never been shown in the country. Gallery director Katre Pärn said she expected the attention around Estonian art to attract first-time buyers.

Eesti Kunsti Oksjonid, which handled the artists’ association’s support auction in early October, is focusing its autumn sale on young and living artists, while also offering works by Haamer and Okas. The company’s representative, Orm Naarits, said the theft involving 700,000 had paradoxically helped bring unprecedented attention to Estonian art, alongside the auction.

Haus Gallery is also preparing an auction exhibition. Art-market specialist and gallery owner Siim Raie said this autumn’s selection was particularly rich and he expected more bidders and buyers than before. He also said the association’s auction could encourage more people to sell art they own, as they see its value has grown over time.