The US and China dominate the art auction market

The market of public auctions of works of art was dominated by the USA last year, according to the results recorded between January 1 and December 31, 2023 by Artprice, an information analysis company in the field, taken over by statista.com.

Artprice figures show that the US accounted for 23% of global profile transactions in 2023, with revenues of $5.2 billion. It should be noted, however, that revenues from the US decreased by 28%.

In the second position is China, with 4.9 billion dollars (+4%), and in the third place - Great Britain, with 1.8 billion dollars (-15%). France remains in fourth place, with 875 million dollars (-11%). It should be noted that in France the number of works sold with a price exceeding one million dollars increased strongly (+80% compared to the years 2011-2014). Germany ($372 million), Italy ($197 million) and Switzerland ($125 million) recorded stable results in the field. In Belgium, profile sales reached $69 million (+21%), and in Spain, $27 million (+31%).

In Japan, these revenues decreased by 22%, and in South Korea - by 49%. In contrast, those in India increased by 76%.

The cited analysis refers to auctions of paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, prints, videos, visual art installations, tapestries and NFTs, excluding antiquities, anonymous cultural works and furniture.

• Best selling artist - Pablo Picasso

Last year's top-selling artist was the painter Pablo Picasso, with 3,500 works, more than half of which were prints bought for less than $5,000 each, according to Artprice. Salvador Dali follows on the podium, with 3,000 works, and Andy Warhol, with 1,900.

According to UNESCO, "art nurtures creativity, innovation and cultural diversity for all peoples around the globe and plays an important role in sharing knowledge and encouraging curiosity and dialogue".

• The global art market is moving online

Global art auction sales fell 14 percent in 2023 to $14.9 billion, according to Artprice, which said transactions were mostly conducted online.

Artprice founder Thierry Ehrmann noted that while the value of fine art sales fell, the number of auctions reached a new record (763,000), increasing by 5%. At the same time, sales under $1,000 (423,000) and online sales increased by 285%, notes brusselstimes.com.

The results highlight that the art market has moved online, with buyers being younger, with an average age of 41. Despite some auction houses resisting digitization, sales at in-person auctions are declining.

According to the cited source, profile sales have dropped significantly in the West, especially high-value ones (over $50 million).

Modern art (artists born between 1860-1919) leads in these auctions, with 40% of total revenues, followed by post-war art (1920-1944) - with 25%, contemporary art (post-1945) - with 17%, ancient art (before 1759) - by 9% and 19th century art (1760-1859) - by 8%.