2017 in numbers, part 3…

[2017年12月26日]

During the month of December, Artprice has been picking out some of the art auction market’s highlights in 2017. This week we look at some key market figures recorded between May and October.

$16.7 million for a painting by Mark Grotjahn

The American artist Mark Grotjahn (1968) obtained an unprecedented new auction record on 17 May 2017: $16.7 million for his canvas Untitled (S III Released to face France 43.14). During the first six months of 2017, Grotjahn’s auction performance was better than David Hockney’s, Damien Hirst’s and Jeff Koons’ and he moved into the global Top 50 ranking of artists by auction revenue (all periods combined). Ten years younger than Jeff Koons, Mark Grotjahn was spotted when he was 30 by Blum & Poe Gallery. Several important museums showed interest in his painting in the early 2000s, before his prices gathered pace on the secondary market.

-43% in Turkey

Turkey’s art market posted poor figures for the first six months of the year with its auctioneers taking a first-half contraction of -43% vs. the same period in 2016. Political tensions also affected art market results in the Philippines (-8%) and Israel (39%).

+48% in Japan

The Japanese Contemporary art market has jumped with annual revenues up from $6.7 million to $9.98 million between June 2016 and June 2017. Transaction volumes posted a sharp increase of 48% in the context of a particularly dynamic secondary market.

$8.5 million for Gauguin

On 16 June 2017 in the Swiss city of Bern, a Paul Gauguin sketch titled Tête d’une jeune femme Tahitienne (1891-1892) largely exceeded the one million dollar estimate given by the Kornfeld Galerie, fetching $8.5 million, the best auction result of the year outside the United States, China and England.

0% buyer’s premium

Sotheby’s decided to completely remove buyer premiums on online auctions in an attempt to trigger growth of its online business.

42%: a breakdown of the Contemporary art market

In auction turnover, New York represents 42% of the global Contemporary art market. London generates 22%, well ahead of Paris with 2.2%. Meanwhile Berlin (0.2%), Madrid (0.1%) and Rome (0.01%) are almost off the map. Artprice’s global analysis clearly shows that Contemporary art is now the primary driver of today’s art market, both in terms of the global auction calendar and in terms of where the money is.

+14% for Contemporary Art

In early October, Artprice’s Contemporary Art Market Report revealed a return to growth after two consecutive years of decline, with turnover up 14% versus the previous year.

80% sell under $8,000

The vast majority (80%) of Contemporary artworks change hands below the $8,000 threshold. The Contemporary art market is therefore on the whole an affordable market. Results above $500,000 represent less than 1% of transactions in the Contemporary art segment.

14% women

According to Artprice’s, 14% of the Top 500 Contemporary artists by auction revenue are women. Artprice considers all artists born after 1945 as “Contemporary”. However, the proportion of women rises to 31% when we look at artists born after 1980. A feminisation of the art market is therefore underway, but the imbalance is still substantial.

$369 million during the Frieze art fair

Total turnover generated by the major auction houses during Frieze Week in early October reached $369 million. Just over 1,000 Fine Art lots were sold over six days in London, for a total turnover up 47% compared to 2016. By rescheduling its London sales of Contemporary & Post-War Art to October (to coincide with Frieze), Christie’s took full advantage of the gathering of major collectors in Londo