Mid-Year Art Market Recap and Outlook: Same old but different

Dear Art Lovers,
It’s that time of year again, for me to recap the first six months and look towards the months ahead. While doing so this year, I realise that I am repeating myself, year after year!
Again, I can report record-breaking auction results, strong sales at various art fairs, E-commerce conquering the art world and a retrenchment in buyers’ appetite at the London season finale of auction reminiscent of an oversaturated market ready to hibernate to summer mode. Even the debate on the frown-upon auction guarantees and other market stimulants, is nothing ‘NEW’.

So, what is actually “NEW” this year?
In my opinion, nothing but the size and speed of growth of this giant machine called the art world. Last year the global art market reached an all-time high at €51bn, a 7% year-on-year increase above the 2007 pre-recession high of €49bn. This year all three sets of Impressionist & Modern Art and Post-War & Contemporary Art auction which took place in February, May and in June already outperformed last year’s results. The star of the lot was the $2bn blockbuster auctions week in NYC in May (coinciding with Frieze NY) which saw a Pablo Picasso selling for a world record $179m. Quite a minute figure if compared to the nearly $300m Paul Gauguin which reportedly sold privately to a Qatari museum earlier on. Furthermore, adding to last year’s 180 art fairs and €3.3bn online art trades, new ventures seemingly spring out of the ground every day providing even more access and, hopefully, transparency to tomorrow’s collectors.

Are we in a bubble and will this all come to an end soon?
Like last year, my answer is 'No'- or 'OKI' as the Greek would put it. As money lending remains cheap so will spending on trophy works of art for investment purposes and wealth preservation benefits. As the internet provides access to a vastly growing number of new collectors, so will the low- to mid-market level get bolstered and new collectors be cultivated. A rise in museum construction over the past decade has furthermore triggered cultural engagement in emerging economies and will ultimately continue to add inflow to the market. Never before has art been as accessible and wanted as today.
With these words- Enjoy your summer!
Warmly,
Constanze Kubern
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BE SMART ABOUT ART.
We are your trusted confidant when it comes to art collecting. We work for you- professional, unbiased and transparent at all times.


It’s our mission to shed light on the opaque art world to new collectors and advise seasoned collectors on collection management optimisation. Services include education on art market dynamics, identifying one’s collecting strategy as well as providing access to unique buying or selling opportunities and efficient collection management tools. Our team of experts caters for all art collecting categories ranging from Old Master Paintings to Contemporary Art.

Constanze Kubern is the founder and managing director of the consultancy. Before setting up her independent practice in 2011, Constanze worked for one of the leading auction houses for many years and then went on to manage the art portfolio of an international asset manager. Having worked on the buying as well as selling side for the past 10 years, clients trust Constanze for her honest and unbiased advice on art collecting and management. She therefore is a regular contributor to international media, such as the Wall Street Journal, FT, The Art Newspaper and Art Info, and speaks at industry leading conferences or seminars such as London Business School’s Executive Education Program. To honour her achievements in art advisory, Constanze was awarded Art Adviser of the Year at the Spear's Wealth Management Young Turk Awards in 2012. She was a Patron of the Tate from 2010 to 2012 and recently oversaw UK operations for an international online auction house before setting off to Hong Kong for our business development initiatives in Asia.