This year’s Artfair in Glasgow has opened with a diverse range of art for sale from graffiti artists such as Banksy and Nick Walker to classic Scottish artists like Anne Redpath or John Byrne .
Art galleries from Aberdeen to Hanoi are represented, art dealers spoke of fending off the bite of the recession as buyers seek out artists they rate as being safe investments.Duncan Miller, a London-based dealer and an expert on Scottish art. “There are people still buying, but they are not in the same numbers right now.”
Mr Miller’s gallery was offering Anne Redpath’s The Grapes for £110,000. Nearby, David Lilford Fine Art was offering a Banksy canvas, Precision Bombing, in which a gunsight picks out a police car, for £95,000.
However, dealers said young artists without established names are struggling in the current climate. Pete Irvine, the fair’s director, said: “Prices are lower than we have seen and it’s an indication of people having less money. Like everyone else, I think the galleries are trying to be realistic.”