​The Real Treasures Of The Fine Art Auction Are Its Hosts

By Thomas Leturgey

“Good evening, my name is Ray Taylor and this the Fine Art Auction,” says the longtime host of each Friday evening broadcast. The veteran auctioneer kicks off the four-day extravaganza of art paintings, engravings, and the occasional vase or stand-alone piece.

[The Fine Art Auction appears on ShopAVC, America’s Value Channel, from 7:00 p.m. to midnight four nights a week.]

The Floridian, who on September 20 celebrated a birthday, is a pleasant guide into the lives of Pablo Picaso, Lisa Mee and the show’s most recent titular hero, Kef! He is a veteran of this type of entertainment, having hosted for 18 years. Taylor knows that the audience on Friday nights isn’t the same as high school football games in the fall. “The first rule of an auction is to look at the room,” he’ll say. “The Fine Art Auction” is a live, five-hour party for those who enjoy the works of Zero Gradient and Henri Matisse, among others.

Taylor, and later in the broadcast, British auctioneer and historian Richard English, a fresh 60, will “go to the certificate” or “their computer” to talk about the history of a piece, the inspiration for a work, or the artist themselves.

They are joined by Mitch Carter, a professed “Renaissance Man” who appears remotely (he is occasionally hampered by bad, Western State mountainous America internet connection) to add depth to some of the pieces.

All dressed professionally in the finest attire, Taylor is a gentleman host, and English, with a tie not as big as some fists, is a larger-than-life personality who welcomes “Ladies and Gentlemen” to each Salvador Dali and Vincent Van Gogh lithograph or Fernando Botero sculpture.

Recently, another auctioneer, Leif Rydfors, has received more television time as Taylor and English enjoy summer vacations. Rydfors, the Italian Jason Statham of the group, looks like he could courageously deliver the art to the Atlanta, Georgia studios in a polish, and otherwise immaculate Audi. His presentation is faster than the others, which is a delight in its own way.

Canadian Nino Barrette is another fine art professional that adds valuable insight to the properties that are up for auction. All the experts have known each other for decades and their camaraderie shows.

Fans of the show are encouraged to check out the weekly inventory online to become familiar with the works and register to bid. For aficionados, it’s a fun exercise to see a Karl Striker work that showcases familiar comic characters sometimes partnered with flying balloons or signs.

Each work, which varies in size, are given about 20 minutes for viewers on televisions, Facebook, YouTube and hand-held devices, to settle in, volley their bids. Final prices vary from low hundreds to the winner, or tens of thousands, depending on the item.

All the hosts bring authority, but an everyman appeal to the various types of art. At times the hundreds of year-old pieces could appear stodgy, but Taylor and English traverse those emotional and intellectual roads with cordial bliss. Rydfors is obviously well-versed as well, and is rapid-fire in his delivery.

Then there is the “Street Art” inspired by Banksy, Kef! and others that contrast the Pierre Auguste Renoir etching and Albrect Durer woodcuts, but the diversity of it all is meant to educate and inspire.

Depending on the tone of the evening, the auctioning can be freewheeling, but never frantic. The hosts show the work in impressive framing and prod the audience to acquire a “lifetime Monet.”

There are artists proofs, limited prints and other works that always catch the eye in various ways, but the hosts bring it all together.

Taylor, English and others are periodically flummoxed when works of great antiquity sell for “less than the price of the frame,” but always tell buyers to hold onto the work for family legacy.

Taylor will travel to the Picasso Museum in Paris to check out “profoundly moving” works, English to his native United Kingdom or Germany, but they will also find diamonds in the rough in the United States. On October 5 and 6, Sarah Wall, a teenage prodigy, will appear live in the studio. She is the daughter of famed American impressionist Daniel Wall and will showcase her own nature’s expressionism and “emotional masterpieces” with vibrant colors of animals and landscapes. She will also discuss her “Art to Heart” foundation that helps kids with special needs. Some proceeds of sales auctioned that day will go to her foundation.

The hosts have auctioned off various pieces to donate proceeds to charity and will discount as many as six prints of artwork at “buy now” prices and waive the Buyer’s Premium to reward loyal patrons.

On Mondays, Carter and English host a special “Mitch and Rich” first hour segment where they auction framed work with much smaller windows for betters. It appears exhausting, but they have fun as the bidding clock winds down.

The Fine Art Auction is not a typical grainy show where coins are peddled, or anything that features Tony Little on an exercise machine. It is never uptight, always appreciative of those who tune in to relax or add to their expansive, personal collection. Each and every “Hammer’s Up” is a winning bid.

Thomas Leturgey is an award-winning freelance writer, public speaker and avid Fine Art Auction viewer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.