Speculating in Cuban art

John Crago, an agricultural exporter from Colorado, took a business trip to Cuba last spring. He came back with 60 paintings, from island landscapes to abstract works, rolled up in his carry-on luggage.

With art from Asia and Russia in demand, some in the art world are betting on Cuba to be the next hot corner of the market. Prices for Cuban art are climbing at galleries and auction houses, and major museums are adding to their Cuban collections. In May, Sotheby's broke the auction record for a Cuban work when it sold Mario Carreño's modernist painting "Danza Afro-Cubana" for $2.6 million, triple its high estimate.

Not surprisingly, Americans are finding ways to get to Cuba, legally or otherwise, to shop for art. But it may be that those intrepid travelers are already late to the game:

Works by Cuban artists aren't necessarily less expensive in Havana than in New York or London. With international interest in Cuban art on the rise, Cuban galleries now charge international prices, and many insist on payment in euros.

The article, in Saturday's Wall Street Journal, also notes the difference between Cuba and other countries that have seen dramatic recent increases in the market value of their artists such as India, China, and Russia, in that Cuba has seen no rise in prosperity to fuel homegrown collecting.

Posted by David on March 23, 2008 10:13 PM