The three largest auction houses in the world (Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips) sold works worth 5,754 million euros this year, an increase of 21% compared to 2019
The year that has just ended was characterized by the outrageous prices of everything. That includes the flats, the olive oil, the lamb meat, and, of course, the art. In fact, in 2021 the value of works of art sold by the three great houses of auctions in the world – Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips – has been 21% higher than 2019, reaching a total of 6.5 billion dollars (5.754 million euros).
The figures, which come from the analysis of the British company ArcTactic, confirm the good moment of the investment in art, and the resurrection of that market after the Covid-19 paralyzed sales for most of 2020. In fact, yes the 2020 data are compared with those of 2021, a spectacular 74% increase. Sotheby’s alone had sales of $ 7.3 billion last year, the highest in its history, although that amount includes not only auctions, but also private sales.
ArcTactic statistics also give a fairly accurate idea of upside in the art world. The most obvious case is that of ‘Young contemporary art’, which is how the analysts of that company call artists under 45 years of age, whose sales doubled in relation to 2020. It is a segment that, apart from traditional ‘art ‘, is entering the new – and controversial – form of digital expression known as go NFT. This is the case of Mike Winkelmann (known as Beeple) and his NFT ‘Everydays: The first 5,000 days’, sold at Christie’s for $ 69 million in March. Other creators in this age group are Adrian Ghenie, Matthew Wong – who passed away in 2019 at the age of 35 -, and Nicolas Party.
Another relevant detail is the importance of Hong Kong as a sales center for the creations of these artists. According to ArtTactic’s analysis, nearly three-quarters of the works of ‘Young contemporary art’ took place in that city. The fact that Hong Kong has been in the middle of a political crisis for three years, after China decided to end the autonomy of the city and sweep away the political freedoms of its inhabitants does not therefore seem to have had the slightest impact on the cities. auctions in that territory.
The bottom line is that the art market, in case there was any doubt, does not care about democracy. Nor to the millionaires of the technology industry and cryptocurrencies. This is how the ArTactic study manifests it by stating that “the art world is experiencing a generational shift towards young collectors”, who have made their fortunes in these sectors. However, the most important sales in 2021 were those of the Impressionists, who reached no less than 963 million dollars, that is, 14.8% of the total. The auctions of these authors have multiplied by almost 3.5 in relation to 2020.
With these numbers, the question remains as to whether the art market is experiencing a ‘bubble’, pushed, precisely, by the new Asian millionaires. In fact, the proliferation of NFTs – which, for some, are not art – has been such that even Melania Trump has just put up for sale digital reproductions of images of his eyes (‘Melania’s Vision’) for 187 dollars (166 euros).
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