The Groove 238 - August: The Art Market’s Best Kept Secret
Welcome to the 238th issue of The Groove.
I am Maria Brito, an art advisor, curator, and author based in New York City.
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AUGUST: THE ART MARKET’S BEST KEPT SECRET
Portrait of Girl, attributed to Rembrandt, sold last August at a small auction house in Maine for $1.4M after a bidding war ensued among three collectors. Once authenticated and “propped up” by a big auction house, it will probably sell for at least $15M.
It’s August. The inbox quiets, galleries go on vacation, and collectors assume nothing happens in the art market.
But that’s exactly when the best deals get made. When others go quiet, those who stay alert can unlock extraordinary opportunities: whether it’s skipping waitlists, closing seven-figure sales, or acquiring art that will define collections for generations.
The truth? Just like Wall Street never sleeps (as Gordon Gekko famously declared in 1987’s Wall Street), the art market doesn’t either… if you know where to look.
When Everyone’s Out, You Can Get In
Some of my best deals have happened in the summer. A couple of years ago in mid-July, a gallery owner I’d been speaking to for months caved to my ask. They had a long waitlist for the work of a coveted primary market artist, but the heat of summer and the lure of adding a major seven-figure sale to their P&L proved stronger. My client and I bypassed the entire line and landed the piece.
In another case, a deal that had simmered for months came to life once summer gave everyone breathing room. Another time, I was negotiating with an advisor who was representing a potential buyer and who had given up. “Everyone’s away!” she said. I stayed on it even when I was on vacation: I closed the deal with another buyer and made two collectors very happy, all while on the beach.
In this business, timing is everything, but timing doesn't always mean auction season or Art Basel week.
Summer Is Quiet and That Means Clarity
With fewer fairs, barely any previews, less FOMO, and lighter travel schedules, summer gives both buyers and sellers a chance to think clearly. There’s less pressure, more room to negotiate, and often more flexibility from galleries who want to lock in sales before fall season chaos begins.
Sellers are reachable. Dealers have space. Collectors are open to moving quickly. The idea that nothing happens in August? It’s not just wrong, it can be costly.
What's Smart Money Doing?
It’s not waiting for September. It’s buying now, when there’s less noise and more access, with room to move and offers to be made. The market doesn’t pause because the world is on vacation. The most strategic collectors use August to skip the line, strike deals, and secure the works that will be impossible to get once the engine revs up again.
Last summer, a little-known auction house in Maine, Thomaston Place, listed a dusty attic find as “in the style of Rembrandt” with a $10,000–$15,000 estimate. But the back of the painting showed it had once been on loan to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, an unusual clue.
Word spread among Rembrandt experts and hunters, and a bidding war erupted, with European collectors joining in by phone. It finally sold for $1.41 million to a private European buyer who clearly suspects it might be the real thing. If so, the work could be worth more than $15 million. The kicker? The sale happened on August 24, when most of the art world was still on vacation. Keep your eyes open: this painting may soon reappear at a major auction house with a far steeper estimate.
Summer isn’t a slowdown. It’s a strategy.
And those who get it are already enjoying artworks they couldn’t have scored at that price any other time.