The art market is recovering, but only at the top | Smart news

Last year, many high-profile art sales made headlines: Andy Warhol’s iconic portrait of Marilyn Monroe, for example, fetched $195 million, becoming the most expensive 20th-century painting ever sold at auction.

However, according to a new report, that momentum was mainly in the upper segment of the art market. In the lower levels, the picture was more complicated.

People thought things would be back to normal in 2022, but the market is clearly different, says economist Clare McAndrew.New York Times Scott Reyburn. The high-end has skyrocketed. It has the lower end compressed.

McAndrew writes the annual Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which analyzes sales through auction houses and private dealers. While auction sales are largely public, the report information on dealer sales comes from a survey, which had about 1,300 respondents this year.

When the pandemic hit, the report found that global art sales sank to an all-time low in 2020. The market restored in 2021 and in 2022, according to thefinal reportcontinued to grow, with sales of $67.8 billion.

But last year’s growth is far from easy. Even as the art market recovered, the biggest players were the main drivers of growth, while the lower levels struggled.

For example, when it comes to auctions, sales increased over $10 million, while sales at lower prices fell. Christies, Sothebys, and Phillips are all top-tier auction housessaw record sales, while 40 percent of medium-sized auction houses reported that they were less profitable than the year before. Growth in dealer sales also largely came from the higher segment of the market.

The US market has the largest share of global art sales (45 percent), followed by the United Kingdom (18 percent) and China (17 percent). Online sales alone now make up 16 percent of sales, a number still higher than before the pandemic. However, compared to 2020 and 2021, they are starting to decrease.

Looking ahead, the forecasts are mixed. Dealers and auction houses do not look positively to 2023, but do not predict a disaster, writes Arun KakarArtsy. Of the dealers surveyed, 45 percent expect sales to improve this year.

Art companies are learning to navigate a new normal, says McAndrew Financial times Melanie Gerlis. People don’t sit still, she says. The past few years have taught us that it’s not all plain sailing, but the good news is that some people are learning how to take charge.

Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, agrees, adding that economic and political turmoil will continue to be influential forces.

The global art market has proven its resilience, he says in anrack. In the context of the global economy, 2023 will be a year of bows as we navigate turning points for inflation, interest rates, economic growth and financial markets, all against a complex global geopolitical backdrop.