ArtMarket® Insight - what's trending on the art market
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Afro-American Artist : focus on Noah Davis (1983-2015) [18 May 2021]
Noah Davis Is Gone, His Paintings Continue to Hypnotize declared Roberta Smith in the New York Times in February 2020, her article enthusiastically celebrating David Zwirner’s New York exhibition of Davis’s work five years after the artist’s untimely death from a rare form of cancer at the age of 32 . If Davis’s works had […]
Over a billion dollars worth of art sold in New York this week [14 May 2021]
The high-end art market appears to have regained its full strength with sales totalling $691 million at Christie’s and $677 million at Sotheby’s. This week’s activity clearly signals a return to pre-pandemic dynamism. The two auction majors have just dispersed nearly $1.4 billion worth of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary works (11 – 13 May). We […]
Monet and Basquiat tomorrow at Sotheby’s… Over $40 million each? [11 May 2021]
On 12 May in New York, Sotheby’s will be hosting two evening sales: one dedicated to Impressionist & Modern art, the other to Contemporary art. The two most expensive works – a Monet and a Basquiat respectively – could each exceed $40 million. An important painting from Claude MONET’s Water Lilies series and one of […]
Hermann Nitsch : Paris/New-York [07 May 2021]
With the creation and ‘actions’ of the Orgies & Mysteries Theatre in 1957, Hermann Nitsch caused a sensation in the Post-War art world (and beyond). The group put on powerful performances bringing together painting, architecture, opera, music and ‘actions’ for a ‘total art’ with a cathartic objective… a “celebration of purification and abreaction”. Although symbolic […]
What Christie’s has in store for us in May… [04 May 2021]
A clear sign the art market is returning to its pre-pandemic condition, the catalogues for Christie’s mid-May sales see the return of major masterpieces… in number, in diversity and in price… Whereas all the indicators were in the red last year with a constrained and impoverished market, the selection of Modern and Contemporary works due […]
Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch [30 Apr 2021]
“The Loneliness of the Soul”, a joint exhibition of work by Tracey Emin and Edvard Munch at London’s Royal Academy is scheduled to reopen on 18 May (until 1 August). We visited the show on the RA’s website. The Royal Academy didn’t choose Tracey Emin by chance. The venerable British institution has greatly contributed to […]
1958… when Sotheby’s took a decisive leap into the future [27 Apr 2021]
In the era of NFTs and the crypto-monetization of the art market, Artprice looks back to the 1950s when the first wave of auction modernization was largely initiated by Sotheby’s bold and dynamic chairman, Peter Wilson. It has often been said that the modern art market was born at 9:30 pm on 15 October 1958, […]
New records in Hong Kong [23 Apr 2021]
Hong Kong plays a key role in Sotheby’s global fine art auction activity, generating almost a quarter of its global annual turnover. In 2020, the American company was the best performing fine art auctioneer in Asia as a whole, taking $563 million in the region. This week, Sotheby’s Hong Kong closed eight “Spring sales”. We […]
Historic volume of transactions in the first quarter [20 Apr 2021]
Despite all the restrictions art market professionals have faced, Q1 2021 ended with a historic record in terms of the number of lots sold on the auction market. During the first quarter of 2021, more than 112,000 artworks changed hands in auction sales around the world. This remarkable figure illustrates the strong growth dynamic of […]
Michael Armitage, a brief history of dazzling success [16 Apr 2021]
The Contemporary art market is currently showing a clear preference for figurative painting, especially if it addresses the themes of racial and sexual identities. The most popular artists on the other side of the Atlantic are often those who create work is related to the major social-cultural upheavals of our times. The works of Michael […]
Beeple, from crypto-success to mega-stardom [13 Apr 2021]
To see Mike Winkelmann – shirt & sweater, small glasses and greying temples – you would have no idea that this ‘normal family man’ appearance hides the imagination of Beeple, a hallucinated world, populated by Hillary Clinton cyborgs, Mark Zuckerberg zombies and futuristic starships in vertical robotic cities. So… apart from being the most bankable […]
A stimulating end of quarter at Sotheby’s [06 Apr 2021]
Having hosted Paris-London cross-geography and cross-category sales with a catalogue combining Giulio Romano and Gilbert & George, as well as Impressionist and Contemporary Art online sessions that elicited strong demand, Sotheby’s ended its first quarter on a high note with a total turnover of $208 million for 25 and 26 March alone. Van Gogh’s “Street […]
Flash News: MENART FAIR, a new fair in Paris – Françoise Pétrovitch, winner of the Guerlain Prize [02 Apr 2021]
The Florence and Daniel Guerlain Foundation drawing prize is awarded to Françoise Pétrovitch Three artists were shortlisted for this important prize reserved for contemporary drawing: German artist, Martin Dammann, Dutch artist, Erik van Lieshout and French artist Françoise Pétrovitch. The Guerlain Foundation asked everyone to make a video showing their works and commenting on their […]
Claire Tabouret enters France’s TOP 10 [30 Mar 2021]
Approaching her 40th birthday, Claire Tabouret is already the most popular living French artist on the art market. A phenomenal success that extends far beyond her native country. Claire Tabouret’s work has been described as expressing “sensitive power” and her paintings are said to convey memory, sensation and vulnerability. Her recent paintings have strong colours […]
The tranquil power of Morandi’s œuvre is still convincing… [23 Mar 2021]
Classical but modern, calm but intense, figurative but minimalist … beyond the paradoxes, Morandi’s paintings evoke a simplicity and immobility that seem at odds with our image-consuming lifestyles and customs. Everything is a mystery said Morandi, ourselves and all things both humble and simple. With rigor, perseverance and modesty, the artist got as close as […]
Phillips hammers record after record in Ultra-Contemporary art [17 Mar 2021]
In the U-C market – that Philips has made a strategic priority – the thirst for novelty seems unquenchable. The success of its New Now sales, mixing established signatures with young artists on auction debuts, just keeps unfolding… Hosted on 3 March last, Phillips’ latest New Now session elicited enthusiasm from all over the globe […]
The Art Market report 2020 [16 Mar 2021]
“The Art Market has now constructed the framework for a new economic model and reached a new equilibrium that the most optimistic projections weren’t expecting before 2025. It is now much better equipped for this ‘other way’ of living and collecting… that of the digital 21st century.” thierry Ehrmann, President and Founder of Artmarket.com […]
Buyer’s premium: is art becoming increasingly expensive? [09 Mar 2021]
2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 … more or less substantial increases in buyer’s fees are regularly imposed on bidders. The price reached when an auctioneer’s gavel drops – the hammer price – is not the price actually paid for the artwork. Auction houses take commissions, some of which are paid by the buyer who placed […]
News in brief: from Van Gogh… to Beeple [05 Mar 2021]
Beeple drives interest in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) market Will it end up being the most expensive digital artwork of all time? The First 5000 Days (2021) by Mike Winkelmann, aka ‘BEEPLE’, is currently skyrocketing in a Christie’s online auction. On Monday 1 March, four days after the start of the sale, this unique digital collage […]
Picasso… hot ceramics? [02 Mar 2021]
Picasso remains the most sought-after and valued artist in the world. His 2020 auction performance once again elevated him to the global number 1 position, both in terms of auction turnover ($245.4 million) and in terms of lots sold (nearly 3,400). Despite all the upheaval and disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Picasso’s market status […]
Joan Mitchell, the art market’s leading female artist… [26 Feb 2021]
The 17th most successful artist in the world (by 2020 annual auction turnover), Joan MITCHELL is above all the highest ranked female artist (after 16 men). Her annual total for last year exceeded that of hot signatures like Yoshitomo NARA (id: 171599), Yayoi KUSAMA and BANKSY. In the current health crisis, Joan Mitchell has […]
Jean Prouvé… the poet of metal [23 Feb 2021]
On 13 February, AnticThermal in Nancy hosted a an emblematic sale of works created by Jean PROUVÉ (1901-1984) for a house designed and built at the beginning of the 1960s for his daughter and overlooking Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (about 60km from Nancy). The house itself has recently been put on sale for approximately €1.5 million. With its […]
A new American chapter for RX gallery [19 Feb 2021]
The American adventure of French galleries appears to be accelerating! While some ten French galleries have opened in New York over the past 10 years, the most recent – RX gallery – has just inaugurated a new space. New York, with its concentration of major collectors (unparalleled in the West) and its super-fast approach to […]
Japan 2020: a healthy and dynamic art market [16 Feb 2021]
Neighbouring a Chinese market as powerful as that of the United States in terms of auction turnover, Japan generates only 2% of Asia’s total fine art auction revenue. This is of course a relatively small share at the global level, but in national terms its the eighth largest in the world after Italy and Switzerland […]
New Art Fair agenda… starting September [12 Feb 2021]
There are too many unknowns regarding the evolution of the pandemic and contingent travel restrictions for the fairs, initially planned for spring, to go ahead. In recent weeks we have seen numerous schedule changes with events planned for the first semester getting postponed, mostly until after the summer. The management of Art Paris has also […]
Deaccessioning vs. Inalienability: how museums are coping around the world… [09 Feb 2021]
Usually when a museum is mentioned in the context of an auction sale, it is in relation to the preemption of a work and not its sale… However, with the pandemic hitting the arts sector so hard, a number of institutions have either sold or are considering selling valuable works to keep themselves afloat. London’s […]
Works collected by Christo and Jeanne-Claude arrive at Sotheby’s [05 Feb 2021]
Like all artists, CHRISTO (1935-2020) and Jean-Claude fraternized with other artists and in some cases became very close friends. And like most artists, they also acquired and surrounded themselves with artworks they particularly liked. Christo and Jeanne Claude together acquired some exceptional pieces during their lives including works by Andy WARHOL, Marcel DUCHAMP, Lucio FONTANA […]
Old Masters: a ray of light… but a touch of disappointment [02 Feb 2021]
Sotheby’s eagerly awaited “Master Painting & Sculpture Part I” sale in New York on 28 January took a total of $114.5 million. With almost all eyes focused on the sublime Botticelli portrait, the sale’s other masterpieces were somewhat overshadowed. Part II of Sotheby’s Old Masters sale was organized exclusively online between 22 and 30 January […]
Botticelli’s Renaissance ‘golden boy’ [29 Jan 2021]
The consignment of a superb Sandro BOTTICELLI (c.1445-1510) painting to Sotheby’s is indeed a master stroke for the auctioneer; not only are paintings by the Renaissance master extremely rare, his portraits are almost impossible to find! The last time a Botticelli appeared on the market was in 2013 with a superb ‘The Rockefeller Madonna’: Madonna and […]
Judith Scott, new record for an outsider artist [26 Jan 2021]
Born with Down’s syndrome and both deaf and dumb, Judith Scott was a self-taught American artist who is today recognized internationally. Last week, Christie’s New York set a new auction record for her work. Communicating with others only through touch, Judith SCOTT (1943-2005) started making art at the age of 44 at the Creative […]
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