The Artprice 2000-2020 Report :
20 years of Contemporary Art auction history

Artmarket.com publishes the new Artprice Report on the Contemporary Art Market, the primary growth driver with a +2,100% increase over 20 years

Confident and stable growth, with a record number of transactions worldwide

“Artprice is proud to present this exclusive report which traces the evolution of the Contemporary Art Market over 20 years”, announces thierry Ehrmann, President and Founder of ArtMarket.com and its Artprice department. “The story it tells reflects a multitude of sociological, geopolitical and historical factors, all of which contributed to the rapid rise of Contemporary Art in the global Art Market. A marginal segment until the end of the 1990s, Contemporary Art now accounts for 15% of global Fine Art auction turnover, and is now its primary growth driver, having increased +2,100% over 20 years. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Art Market switched almost entirely to the Internet. 2021 will no doubt see an extension of this trend”.

In short, the Contemporary Art Market has been through a very long and very profound transformation over twenty years, which Artprice has followed. We have witnessed its exponential rise until 2008 – until Damien Hirst’s insolent sale just after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers at Sotheby’s – and the subsequent ‘arrival’ of the Chinese Art Market with its peak in 2014. Clearly, the health crisis that began in March 2020 has once again broken the market’s rhythm, but there are few markets that resist rhythm breaks quite like the Art Market.

So we seem to have reached a perfect spot for a pause and for serious analysis of the metamorphoses of the Contemporary Art Market – the segment of the Market which harbours the biggest risks and opportunities – before it fully resumes its undoubtedly unexpected activities.

And don't miss, exclusive to this year's report, the TOP 1,000 contemporary artists at auction (2000-2019)

The Contemporay Art Market at Auction:

Growth
• The Contemporary Art rush
• The market's pillars
• Painting… above all
Diversity
• A new landscape
• " No Man's Land "
• Black (also) matters (in art)
Valuation
• In search of novelty
• Multiple choice…
• Digital agility

Read our report, 20 years of Contemporary Art auction history:
The Contemporary Art Market report 2000-2020

Artprice by Artmarket's 2019 Annual Art Market Report

The new report shows continued growth with a all-time record number of transactions based on global confidence in the market, and the French market was particularly strong in 2019

Confident and stable growth, with a record number of transactions worldwide

thierry Ehrmann, Artprice founder and CEO of ArtMarket.com: “The Art Market’s growth is based on confidence”

22nd Annual Report by Artprice by Artmarket

This report contains the famous Artprice ranking of the Top 500 best-selling artists on the global fine art auction market and the Top 100 auction results. It also contains an analysis of the global Art Market from a geographical perspective (by country and by major city), a breakdown by historical periods and by artistic media, a selection of crucial Artprice market indices and 8 key chapters providing an uncompromising analysis of today's global Art Market. No other entity is currently capable of generating such high quality macro- and micro-economic metadata based on proprietary Big Data and AI algorithms.

General overview of 2019

• The global Art Market generated $13.32 billion, down -14% mainly due to a drop in the number of ultra-high value masterpieces offered (worth > $50 million)
• The number of lots sold worldwide reached a new historical high of 550,000
• The average lot price in 2019 reached $24,300
• The median lot price was $940
• Approximately 90% of all lots sold fetched less than $17,000
• The unsold rate remained stable at 38% (slightly more than a third)
• The overall price index remained stable at +0.48%
• The Contemporary art price index was up +4.44%
• Top 500 Contemporary artists by auction turnover

Read our 22nd Annual Report on the Global Art Market at:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2019

2019 Contemporary Art Market Report

The Contemporary art market has grown 1,800% in 19 years and its price index rose 22% in 2018/19.

A veritable market within a market

In commercial terms, the trade in Contemporary artworks is today a veritable market within a market. Our 21st Contemporary Art Market Report focuses on the over 70,000 Contemporary works now bought and sold annually at auctions around the world. This is almost the same number as for the entire Art Market in the early 1990s.

The Contemporary Art segment may be the market’s most volatile segment, but it is not ‘speculative’ in the negative sense of the word. Most Contemporary artists are alive today, so the segment naturally generates the highest returns on investment because the value of the works is itself being created, little by little, as the artists’ productions expands and each artist finds his or her place in Art History.

SUMMARY

• General synopsis & key figures
• The geo-politics of the Contemporary Art market
• The best auction houses
• The top-selling artists
• African artists breaking through
• Top 100 Contemporary works sold at auction
• Top 500 Contemporary artists by auction turnover

Artprice by Art Market's Contemporary Art Market Report – an indispensable tool for participants and attendants at the major autumn art fairs (Frieze and Fiac in particular) – is available free of charge at the following address:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2019

Global Art Market in H1 2019:
Stronger Demand for Contemporary Art

Global Figures:

1. Turnover in the USA (-20%), China (-12%) and the UK (-25%) has contracted**
2. The number of lots sold between $10 and 100 million dropped by 41%
3. Top quality Modern (-21%) and Old Master (-38%) works in short supply
4. Claude Monet dominated the H1 2019 with 23 works sold for €251 million
5. Contemporary Art prices posted an increase of +40%
6. New record for a living artist: Jeff Koons’ Rabbit (1986) fetched $91 million
7. Average annual return works out at +4.6% on an average holding of 13 years
8. Tighter supply pushed prices up
9. The volume des Fine Art* transactions was up very slightly: +0.1%

*Public sales of Fine Art (paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, prints, installations). **In collaboration with Art Market Monitor of Artron (AMMA).

Demand intensifies for Contemporary art as supply contracts and prices rise.

“We are seeing a tightening of the balance between supply and demand in the Art Market,” explains thierry Ehrmann, Artprice’s Founder/CEO.
“The results show persistent demand for museum-quality works, but the secondary market’s supply has tightened somewhat. The Art Market – as we have known it since 1975 – appears to be reaching its structural limits: auction houses are struggling to maintain their operating margins and also to convince collectors to sell their best pieces. They are constantly increasing their buyer fees while simultaneously inventing new ways of reassuring sellers. Guarantees can encourage some sales, but this mechanism doesn’t represent a global solution. It’s time for the Art Market to start a new digital era”.

The recent acquisition of Sotheby’s and Artprice.com’s metamorphosis into Artmarket.com (its new company name submitted to the Extraordinary General Meeting) are two changes that clearly reflect the Art Market’s entry into the age of the Internet.

• Key Figures
• The New “Classics” of Contemporary Art
• Soft Power: the contraction benefits Hong Kong
• Art’s financial performance attracts investors
• .../...

Now available online at:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/global-art-market-in-h1-2019-by-artprice-com

Artprice’s 2018 Annual Art Market Report: record number of global Fine Art auction transactions since 1945 and greater buyer selectivity

The Art Market enters a new era on the back of excellent growth

Artprice100© “The Wolves of Wall Street at the gates of the Art Market”

The Artprice100® index shows an increase of +380% since 2000
Or an annual average return of +8.6%

Eight artists changes in our Artprice100® index between fiscal year 2017 and 2018 In 2000, only 1 Chinese artist (Zhang Daqian) qualified for inclusion in our Artprice100® index compared with 16 in 2017

An efficient, liquid and transparent Art Market, similar to a financial market.

In a world where many Western countries now post quarterly economic growth rates well below 1%, the Art Market has once again confirmed its efficiency, liquidity and transparency… just like a financial market.

A spectacular increase in transactions with 538,000 works sold in 2018, an absolute record since 1945, despite the relative torpidity of the global economy.

2018’s global auction turnover total was very impressive with an overall figure of $15.48 billion.

A global economic reality in the 21st century, the museum industry® is driving the Art Market.

In 2018, 26.2% of our Top 500 global artists are Chinese, illustrating the power of China vis-à-vis the United States which only account for 17.4% of the Top 500 artists.

The Art Market in 2018 chapters:
• Editorials: thierry Ehrmann & WAN Jie
• General Synopsis
• From New York to Beijing
• Building the Chinese Art Market
• Affordable art
• Multiple records
• “Crazy” sales
• Abstraction… more than just American
• Artron’s market trend analysis
• The Best of Chinese Art in 2018
• Western Old Masters
• Investing in Art
• The Top 100 auction results
• The Top 500 artists

The report includes Artprice’s now famous ranking of the world’s 500 most powerful artists, the Top-100 auction results of the year, information regarding our Artprice100® index now used in trading rooms, analyses by country and by capital, analyses by creative periods and by artistic media... and a selection of Artprice market indices, and even more: Soft Power, Trends, Financial returns, etc...
Read our 21st Annual Report on the Global Art Market at:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2018

The Contemporary Art Market report 2018

Artprice ahead of the Frieze and the FIAC presents its 2018 Contemporary Art Market Report: Plus 1,744% turnover growth in 18 years, an 8.1% annual yield.

1. Global turnover was up 19% to $1.9 billion
2. The number of lots sold rose by 17%, with 66,850 auction results
3. The global unsold rate remained stable at 39%
4. The Contemporary Art Price Index posted an increase of 18.5%
5. Since 2000/2001, global turnover has risen 1,744%, from $103 million to $1.9 billion
6. Since 2000/2001, the lots sold total has multiplied 5.5x from 12,300 to 66,850
7. Contemporary Art auction results were recorded in 59 countries last year
8. New York, London, Beijing and Hong Kong accounted for 82% of turnover, on 17% of global lots sold
9. Greater China (Hong Kong and Taiwan included) generated $480m, i.e. 26% of the global market
10. Europe had an exceptional year: France +81%, Germany +40%, Italy +31%
11. The Netherlands, Belgium and Austria each generated over $8 million
12. South Korea ($8 million) and the Philippines ($5 million) bring Southeast Asia into the global market
13. Australia ($10 million) and New Zealand ($5 million) are in the top 20 marketplaces
14. South Africa ($6 million) leads Africa, with Morocco and Nigeria far behind
15. The Middle East is represented by Turkey ($5 million), Iran ($3 million), UAE ($2 million) and Israel ($1 million)

*Fine Art at Public Auction: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, prints, installation
**In collaboration with the Art Market Monitor of Artron (AMMA)

A full market is now active on 5 continents.

The chapters explore the hottest topics in the global market and provide answers to questions that any art lover, collector, professional or curator who is active in the Contemporary Art Market might have...

General synopsis. Contemporary art’s market performance

Stimulated by a sensational record of $110.5 million in May 2017, the Contemporary art Market has just ended a third consecutive semester of growth. The principal drivers of this growth are ever-stronger demand for works by the stars of Contemporary art and a proliferation of supply in a particularly favorable economic context.

Other chapters:
• Artists’ prices
• Africa and its diasporas
• In the news
• Top 100 Contemporary Artworks
• Top 500 Contemporary Artists

Now available, the new 2018 Artprice Contemporary Art Market Report provides decision support tools that analyse the evolution, the organization and the latest trends in the Contemporary Art Market:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2018

H1 2018 Global Art Market Report, by Artprice.com

All economic indicators are positive

1. Global auction turnover on Fine Art* rose 18%, totalling $8.45 billion
2. Transactions remained stable with 262,000 lots sold, up 2.5% vs. H1 2017
3. The USA posted a massive 48% increase, with total turnover of $3.3 billion
4. China**, with $2 billion in turnover, reduced its unsold rate before a decisive H2
5. The UK is just behind China with auction turnover up 18% to $1.9 billion,
6. The EU is contributing to growth: France +8%, Germany +17%, Italy +22%
7. Modern Art, the high-end market’s mainstay, accounted for 46% of total turnover
8. Modigliani and Picasso both generated results above the $100 million threshold
9. Zao Wou-Ki was China’s best-performer in H1 2018 with turnover of $155 million
10. Contemporary Art’s global price index rose 27%, rivalling the S&P 500

*Fine Art Public Auction: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, prints, installation
**In collaboration with the Art Market Monitor of Artron (AMMA)

A new worldwide stability

Global Fine Art auction turnover amounted to $ 8.45 billion in H1 2018, an increase of 18% versus the year earlier period. The Art Market is therefore pursuing the renewed growth which started in H1 2017 (+9%) and was confirmed in H2 2017 (+32%).

The complete H1 2018 Global Art Market Report, by Artprice.com:

• The USA again leader thanks to Modern Art
• London capable of competing with New York
• China reduces its unsold rate before a decisive 2nd half: the soft power battle with the US intensifies.
• Europe is modestly participating in the growth
• Top 30 auctioneers by Fine Art turnover in H1 2018
• Domination of 20th Century Art
• Investing in Art
• Top 50 artists by auction turnover,

Now available online at:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/global-art-market-in-h1-2018-by-artprice-com

The art market enters a new phase

2017 marks a return to worldwide growth for the art market. After two consecutive years of contraction (-10% in 2015 and -23% in 2016), global art auction turnover increased by +20%, equivalent to a spectacular turnaround of +40% (absorption of the contraction plus additional growth). This performance is all the more significant as it was generated by a combined recovery of both the Western and the Chinese markets, with each market generating a new historical auction result as well.

The year 2017 will remain a decisive year for two reasons.
On the one hand, because a new price range (unthinkable just a few months ago) has been reached, with the huge gap between the previous all-time art auction record and the new one (between $180 million and $450 million) bound to be filled incrementally by upcoming sales of museum quality works.
On the other hand, because for the first time since the eclosion of the Chinese market (2008), the major powers of the Art Market have together demonstrated all the signs of firm and durable growth. And lastly because 2017 has proved beyond any doubt the validity of the model developed (and IPR protected) by Artprice which details and forecasts all of the economic, financial and sociological phenomena inherent to “the Museum Industry” ®.

• Soft Power: China first, the USA just behind
• An increasingly diversified global market
• The structure of the Art Market in 2017
• The Western Market
• The Chinese Art Market

The “Quality over Quantity” strategy of Chinese Art Auction Market has paid off

Ranking of the Top 500 artists by auction turnover
European artists accounted for nearly half of the world’s Top 500 artists last year, ahead of Asia (162) and North America (82). The ranking also contained 12 Latin American artists, 6 Africans and 6 from Oceania. Although still modestly represented in the Top 500, these latter regions are indeed becoming increasingly important on the global Art Market as a whole.

Much more to discover in:
The complete Art Market in 2017 (Annual Report by Artprice.com) available online:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2017/

Explore Years 2017 to 2011

Explore Years 2010 to 2003