The Great Vanishing Act ; a New Breed of Collector Is Pouring Serious Money Into Contemporary Art, but the Works Are Disappearing Into Private Homes and May Never Be Seen On Public Display

Summary

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THE Arts Council's idea of offering interest-free Pounds 2,000 loans to buyers of contemporary art is inspired, but too little, too late. It arrives at the very moment when prices have gone beyond the reach of ordinary artloving mortals.

I recently chaired a debate with private and corporate collectors. There were gasps from the audience when the German collector Harald Falckenberg revealed images from his 60,000 sq ft factory near Hamburg.

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The Great Vanishing Act ; a New Breed of Collector Is Pouring Serious Money Into Contemporary Art, but the Works Are Disappearing Into Private Homes and May Never Be Seen On Public Display

Aficionados rarely say what they pay but the scale of this operation could be measured in millions of euros.

Then Susan May, the Arts Council's head of acquisitions, disclosed her annual budget - a trifling Pounds 150,000.

That would not get you more than a few square inches of a Damien Hirst.

In th...

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