Jeff Koons Balloon Monkey
Image courtesy of The Art Newspaper.
2014 was a year of sky high prices, $1.66 billion in contemporary art was sold in four days! Some fear that these prices are unsustainable. Lets consider a few angles in this debate, by looking at a few articles that have been published as 2015 begins.
First, The Art Newspaper published a comprehensive look at the art market. They fear that the climbing prices for unproven artists foster an insecure market. Additionally, both Christie’s and Sotheby’s will be under new leadership this year, after both CEOs resigned at the end of 2014. This makes for a potentially unsettling future of the mega prices we have seen in 2014. Read more about this here.
The New York Times looked at the health of the market through the eyes of Cézanne prices. As the market craves trendy artists like Jeff Koons, has art historical importance gone by the wayside? Market veterans worry that the market has forgotten about art history and care more about fashion. To learn more about this view, click here.
The Art Market Monitor has taken another approach. They looked at the price history for works created in the 1960s, arguing that this work has just hit its price stride. They claim we have come out of the 2008 recession strongly and are on trend to hit new records in 2015. To learn more visit The Art Market Monitor here.
While there are many opinions about the future of the art market. One thing we cannot forget is that the art market is strongly effected by the global economy. We have seen climbing prices as the elite of the developing world have become purchasers of fine art in a robust way. What the future holds is unknown!
Paul Cezanne
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
1960s artist Andy Warhol.
Image courtesy of The Art Market Monitor.
