Houston oilman Roland Sledge of VAALCO Energy is the archetype of the outsider art buyer the big auction houses are hoping to rope in to what they hope will be an resurgence in online art sales, after a decade of disappointment that proved the obvious: few people are willing to drop four or five figures on objects they have not seen in person. Nevertheless, in today’s New York Times, Artnet Auctions’ Hans Neuendorf toots the online horn: “it’s happening,” he says.