Kenny Schachter's article for Artnet News draws a parallel between President Jimmy Carter's 1977 energy-crisis plea to lower thermostats and the current art-market response to Trump-era tariff turmoil. He reports that the spring 2025 auction cycle generated $1.25 billion, continuing a decade-long decline from the 2014 peak, with bidders spending less and big-ticket sellers stuck. Schachter also promotes his own no-reserve auction, "Hoarder #6," scheduled for July 8–17 at Phillips, and critiques Trump's economic policies and crypto ventures, name-dropping Justin Sun as a major holder of $Trump tokens.
Why it matters: Schachter's column offers a first-person, insider perspective on how macroeconomic uncertainty—fueled by tariffs, debt, and recession fears—is depressing the high-end art market. His anecdotal evidence of collectors sitting on their paddles and the continued shift toward lower-priced, higher-volume transactions signals a structural change in art buying behavior. The piece also highlights the intersection of art, politics, and crypto, using Sun's legal troubles and Trump's token issuance to question the ethics and stability of the current art-finance ecosystem.