A
ART ATTACK
Unwitting superyacht crew could be risking legal and financial hardships by
mishandling priceless artefacts onboard for super-rich owners. ANDREW
DRAPER lifts the lid on a hidden floating world of fine art which could soon
see crew charged with smuggling under far-reaching new EU rules.
had told him until the owner stared horrified at
her investment. Christo artworks are valued in
the millions.
An Andy Warhol Brillo Pad sculpture was left
in a wheelie bin on the deck because someone
thought they were, well, Brillo pads, when in fact
they are an important part of the pop artist’s
oeuvre – one such sculpture sold in 2010 for
$3,050,500.
The value of this artwork was intrinsically
linked to its condition. Similar sculptures in
lesser condition have sold only for tens of
thousands of dollars, showing how critical it is to
care for the only appreciating asset onboard a
yacht.
FINLANDS SJÖFART J SUOMEN MERENKULKU 29
C rews working on superyachts are often
left exposed and vulnerable to the
consequences of not knowing how to
handle and care for high-value art.
Stories abound of heavy-handed cleaning which
results in accidents such as chipped precious
crystal, popping champagne corks flying through
the canvas of valuable paintings, and chemical
cleaning agents stripping gilded masterpiece
picture frames.
So, whose fault is it when this happens, and
whose responsibility is it for training to make
sure it doesn’t? These are difficult questions to
answer when the artwork – which is sometimes
worth more than the vessel itself – is shrouded in
secrecy.
Should captains and crews be trained in art
appreciation or do they generally regard it all as a
bit of a nuisance? (The answer to the last
question is usually ‘yes’.)
There are several issues concerning the
carriage of fine art in international waters. They
range from factors which cause deterioration of
materials, to conservation and repair, legal
contracts in build and refit, tax liability, customs
seizure, shipping, security and training.
Pandora Mather-Lees of Pandora Art Services
is a consultant advising on specialist art care and
says there’s a real lack of knowledge about how
to manage fine art onboard.
‘The typical scenario is where the owner
wants to ship artwork onto a yacht,’ she says.
‘Then there’s responsibility for the crew to be
onboarding these specialist pieces which can
include valuable design objects. The owner might
have a shipping company to handle installation,
but undoubtedly there are a lot of risks.
‘The biggest risk is moving the art. There’s a
lot of accidental damage. When art is moved
around it is vulnerable – it gets dropped or
inadvertently ruined because people just don’t
know what it is.’
A Christo and Jean-Claude painting was
unwrapped by the captain when it arrived on a
vessel, not realising that the brown paper and
string were an integral part of the art. No-one
Nautilus members who have encountered any
of the issues described in this article can contact
the Union for advice and support.
Stewards are often told to clean artwork as
part of their duties. But cleaning a valuable
artwork incorrectly can be worse than not
cleaning it at all. Moving it to dust and polish a
table can lead to chips or cracks, and anyone
who thinks throwing cushions around while
they’re cleaning – at the risk of knocking over an
art piece – should think again. An innocuous
looking lamp costing � 90,000 was ruined by a
crew member’s flying cushion.
The dishwasher is another ‘no-no’. A damaged
�100,000 crystal sculpture, typical of those sold
by Artsio Gallery to yacht owners, can cost �
20,000 for repair to a scratched surface by
specialists.
Ms Mather-Lees says: ‘Often, the more junior
the crew, the more likely they are to make
mistakes. They have no experience or training.’
A Picasso can be valued at $50m, a Fontana at
$40m. Very little public data exists on how much
valuable art is, literally, floating about, but Ms
Mather-Lees estimates it at over $4bn.
‘Let’s say there were over 4,000 yachts over