The COVID-19 pandemic has dropped the public auction sales of fine and decorative art, and antiques to $17.6 billion in 2020, which is a 30 percent decline from the 2019 record. But the stagnant art auction market is reportedly rising again this year.
Ⓒ stories, Freepik
According to ARTnews, thirteen auctions held at the major top-tier auction houses, Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips, recorded $1.7 billion in total sales in April through July from auctions held in New York, London, and Paris. This is $60 million higher than the same period in 2020. Sales in the US market, which usually has the largest share of global fine art auction sales, saw a decline of 16 percent, but it was the high purchasing power in Asia that led to the increased sales numbers
Pablo Picasso and Jean-Michel Basquiat again took the lead, recording the highest total turnover; Picasso recorded $187 million in sales in New York, London, and Paris, while Basquiat recorded $98 million. Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, and Claude Monet ranked in third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively. Joan Mitchell, the only woman in the top 45 highest-selling artists, brought in a total of $33.6 million with four works.
The final prices of the top 10 selling lots totaled $507 million, accounting for 32 percent of the evening sales volume. Young and emerging artists such as Flora Yukhnovich, Salman Tour, and Cinga Samson were named as rising stars in the auction market.