With the pandemic-induced upheaval of 2020 and 2021, the art world had big hopes that 2022 was a time for the market to return to form, and it certainly did.
The Art Market 2022 reports that the global art market saw pandemic recovery with robust sales of art and antiques by dealers and auction houses, reaching an estimated US$65.1 billion, up 29% from 2020 (US$50.1 billion), and exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 values.
“It’s an absolute record, not only for Christie’s but for the art market.” So said Guillaume Cerutti, Christie’s chief executive, of the $8.4bn racked up by the firm in 2022. “We are in a challenging macro environment, but these figures show the resilience of the art market.” – The Art News Paper
At the beginning of 2022, NFTs seemed to be on track to take over the world. Yet by May, much of the shine of blockchain-based works was depleted by the enormous crash in the prices of cryptocurrencies, which only deepened as the year went on, due in part to the implosion of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. While there’s much talk of “crypto contagion,” the art world continues to find ways to work with NFTs.
Christie’s, for example, announced its sparkling new platform, Christie’s 3.0, the on-chain auction platform dedicated to exceptional NFT art, to coincide with Miami Art Week (the event that, in 2021, was abuzz with newly minted crypto-wealthy collectors).
The Paul G. Allen collection sale in November 2022 smashed all records, with five of its top-tier works selling for over $100 million each.
Private sales in the auction sector also saw a steady uptick of 32%, reaching $4.1 billion, of which Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses make up $3.0 billion alone.
Among other jaw-dropping sales records in 2022, it was a signal that buyers at the top end of the market, at least, are still enthusiastic, even as inflation rises and the world braces for a recession.
Fine art, particularly works from the 20th and 21st centuries contributed significantly to the bottom line. Sales in that category alone totalled $6.2bn, a 21% rise on last year. Luxury goods made $988m, up 2%; classics racked up $789m, up 37% in 2021;
Overall, millennials accounted for 21% of global buyers and generated 10% ($172m) of the total global purchase of contemporary art, with hot young artists including Matthew Wong, Adrian Ghenie and Anna Weyant among the favourites. A further $110m was spent on watches, jewels, handbags, trainers and wine. Proving the power of digital, an extraordinary 89% of buyers purchased via online channels.
As clients look for more certainty in a less frothy market, guarantees were up 86% in 2021 (688 in 2022 versus 369 last year). Though, as Cerutti noted, “guarantees are very often in play for higher value lots”, so they were “not a defining factor in the high sell-through rate”. Indeed, guarantees accounted for just 1.6% of all lots sold by Christie’s this year; in 2021 this was 0.9%.
Looking ahead to 2023, Ben Gore, Christie’s chief operating officer, described what will happen next as “the trillion dollar question”. He noted how the firm has been grappling with inflation and the war in Ukraine among other headwinds. But, he said: “The power of what we do—with collections, with curation, with a strong team—will take us through.”
The global art market is projected to grow from USD 455.37 billion in 2022 to USD 795.63 billion in 2026. So, we can expect a booming future in the art market!
However, last November, the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a global association of financial institutions and central banks, said 2023 will be as weak as 2009 as Ukraine turns into an “eternal war.” It forecast a recession in the UK and eurozone, stagnation in the United States and said there would be an optimistic outlook for China only if it managed to shake off prolonged lockdowns.
Ediz Mustafa, Founder of Frederick Charles Art said: I expect the UK Market to stay buoyant despite the problem the UK economy is facing in 2023. Wealth around the world is rising which will only increase the demand for Art. 2022 was a great year for the market with Christie’s auction house posting a record $8.4 billion in overall sales, and over 80% of that was in Art and auctions.
