Investors can get a stake in ‘Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer’, painted by Bacon in 1963. It was bought by a private collector at Christie’s in London seven years ago for $52m (approximately €45.8m at the time), and has been valued at slightly more by Artex, a new stock exchange for art.
Based out of Liechtenstein, Artex has an EU licence. It plans to list other major artworks on the exchange, and is expected to eventually aggregate them in one exchange traded fund (ETF).
The Bacon painting is a triptych showing his lover from three angles. Artex says its aim is to make art a more accessible investment, by allowing people buy shares for as little as $100 (€92).
“Artex’s mission is to provide a regulated, liquid and transparent art stock exchange that would be accessible to anyone interesting in trading art shares,” its website says.
The initial public offering (IPO) of a painting should not be much different to that of a company, with the price of shares going up and down based on demand.
The price of ‘Three Studies’ could increase if a collector or museum decided to buy the painting, and was prepared to pay a premium to the shareholders.
Artex will be hoping that other collectors sell them works, and their fees are set at a lower rate than the 20pc commission charged by auction houses.
Artex yesterday announced the successful completion of the initial offering. Three quarters of the stock – 412,500 shares – is going on the market, with the price fixed at €92, giving a total value of about €38m.
The chairman of Artex, Prince Wenceslas of Liechtenstein, said: “We are very proud to announce the success of this final step towards the trading of a work of art, a first in art history.
“The strong interest shown by qualified investors is a major mark of confidence in our new regulated and accessible art-focused multilateral trading facility.”
Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, Artex CEO, added: “The enthusiasm generated by this offering is excellent news for all those who believe in the potential of democratising investment in art.”
The company said its intention is that the Bacon painting will go on public display, and plans to loan it to museums.