Hello, Sotheby’s? I’d Like To Borrow Against My Painting.

“One art-world business is booming: collectors looking to borrow against works they own, especially before the fall sales threaten to lower values. ‘We’ve been contacted by lots of people who are feeling some sort of margin call,’ says Sotheby’s CEO, Bill Ruprecht. Other lenders have virtually stopped lending against art recently, but Ruprecht says Sotheby’s is still ‘very comfortable’ doing so.”