FRED SCOTT: Resurgent art market clocks up record prices
Art economist Clare McAndrew’s 2018 total art market report was published by Art Basel and UBS in March. She found that the art economy in 2017 reached $63.7bn in total global sales, a rise of 12% from the previous year. Private and gallery sales were estimated at $35.2bn, with auction sales contributing $28.5bn. The staggering $450m paid for Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi in November 2017 at Christie’s in New York made up 11% of the auction market figure. In 2018, the strong trend of the art market seems unstoppable. Global art buyers spent almost $3bn on art in New York over a two-week period in May. Christie’s’ turnover amounted to $1.79bn, of which $833m was raised from the collection of the late David and Peggy Rockefeller. This impressive collection broke the previous record of $484m raised for the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge private collection. During the Rockefeller auction, 22 world records were set and this staggering result again reveals the importance of prov...
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