The London- and New York–based dealer Bernard Jacobson harks back wistfully to the community spirit of his hardscrabble days in England during the global oil crisis of the 1970s. “It was fun because we were all kids,” he says. “We had what we called a three-day week, because on two days we had no electricity and worked by candlelight. I’d make my money for the week from selling one Warhol. Now I’m a grown-up and have a big staff and headaches.” As for surviving a recession, Jacobson says, “I think it’s a matter of keeping calm and being extremely cautious.”

In any event, downturns “are all different,” says the Old Masters dealer and avid market observer Richard Feigen. “I think past lessons apply, but I don’t necessarily think some of today’s contemporary-art collectors, dealers and auctioneers are going to believe that the same forces are at work or necessarily will be repeated.” One theory holds that because we are in a vastly expanded, global art world, the market is recession-proof. But those who have been around for a while tend to think it will remain cyclical. If that is the case, the only approach to take may be a good-naturedly Sisyphean one. “You keep pushing the rock up the hill,” says Shainman. “Sometimes it’s very heavy.”

"History Repeating?" originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's May 2008 Table of Contents.