Art-Market Highs
PURCHASING FINE ART requires deep knowledge and a measure of gut instinct, especially in a global market. Art sales around the world totalled US$63.7 billion in 2017 — an uptick of 12 per cent over the 2016 tally but still short of the US$68.2 billion high in 2014 — according to Clare McAndrew, author of the annual Art Basel/UBS art market report. Of that figure, US$28.5 billion was generated by the sale of artworks at auction — in particular postwar, contemporary and modern art, which combined to account for nearly three-quarters of the market. These categories were followed by impressionist art, with a 17 per cent market share, and old masters with 10 per cent.
When it comes to price sectors, the art market is a land of extremes, says McAndrew, driven largely by the sale of works commanding US$1 million or more, which account for the majority of total art-market revenue, despite representing fewer than one per cent of the transactions. Pieces selling for less than US$1,000, which make up a third of all pieces sold at auction, accounted for just 0.3 per cent of the market’s value. Here are a few of the notable artworks that fuelled the fire in 2017.