RIP Artlist

15GERTRUDE4-articleLargeYesterday Artlist closed its doors although that is really just a euphemism for ceasing operations. The founder sent out an email announcing the closure through an email to the community noting that they had not been able to make it a profitable business although he still believes in the core of what Artlist does as the future in selling art from collector to collector, aka the secondary marketplace.

Artlist was able to navigate the secondary art market and had even sold a piece by Gerhardt Richters on the platform for $5m.  They had multi-million dollar pieces of major artists from Calder to Danh Vo on the site.  The concept was a flat commission to Artlist for 10% and they would in turn give 5% back to the artist.  Maybe the number should have been higher as the auction houses can take up to 40% and the original artist rarely sees a dime.  I liked where they were going but perhaps it was too soon in a market that is in need of a massive correction that from afar looks like a massive cruise ship bobbing in the ocean trying to change course.

Artlist closed with 9000 buyers/sellers on their platform.  The company had made significant progress in a very slow moving vertical in the past two years.  Many investors might collect art but are wary of investing in this space.  There are certainly some art companies that have risen to the top (Artsy, Paddle8, Art Market Monitor) but they are still pushing to change the art world dominated by Sotheby’s, Christies, other auction houses, galleries and now the art fairs.  Perhaps it was timing as raising money now is not as easy as it was a few years back.

They were about to be acquired by a 100 year old company that could use a shot in the arm, a change for the next hundred years but the company strung them along with a sub-par deal because they themselves (my guess) were scared of change.  Their golden handcuffs over the past hundred years has been waning but not enough to see the future.

I was the first dollar in Artlist.  It has been an uphill battle from day one.  I agree with the founder, Kenneth Schlenker, that this is the future.  He said “In the long run there will be a peer-to-peer marketplace for art. And I’m hoping that people can build upon what we’ve done.”  So do I.  Sometimes in the start-up world, the future is too ahead of the curve as in timing is everything.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    This happens.You can talk about timing and learning.It just sucks to fail for entrepreneurs regardless of reasons.i wrote this a while back. Still believe it.http://arnoldwaldstein.com/

    1. Gotham Gal

      good piece.it does suck to fail but always lessons learned.

  2. meredithcollinz

    Heartbreaker.

    1. Gotham Gal

      yep.

  3. pointsnfigures

    Sorry. Never fun, always painful. I was pulling for you because the art market is ripe for disruption.

    1. Gotham Gal

      it is so ripe but unfortunately not easy to peel off the skin.

      1. pointsnfigures

        Yup. Sort of like investing in ebooks in 1995. Or waiting for a Cubs World Series. It’s gonna happen : (

    2. awaldstein

      Depends on how you define it.Images to enhance your life one thing. Art based on scarcity another.You are not disrupting art you are changing access to images by definition as scarcity is value.True this is as I look at the Platinum print of Margaret Bourke-Whites photo of a DC 4 over the Chrysler building. Where does it true value lie?She was an amazing women, New Yorker, artist. The print is amazing. It is also very rare and has appreciated by over $50K in the last 10 year. Why do I love it?

  4. Kenneth Schlenker

    Really appreciated reading this. Thank you for being such a amazing investor, the whole team learned so much from your advice and gained so much from your ongoing support from the early days right until the end. We learned so much fighting hard for ArtList. Shutting down is no easy decision, but onwards we go. Great things ahead!

    1. Gotham Gal

      🙂