The auction house broke five artist records this week, with only four lots going unsold over the course of the night.
” Art is a bulletproof market,” commented art advisor Rory Howard, referring to the imagined threats posed by Brexit and Donald Trump. “But you can still buy at reasonable prices.”
If the adrenalized atmosphere was heralding a prize fight of some kind, the auctioneers appeared to have the edge with the help of a little financial knowhow. Sotheby’s just clipped the high estimate for its first heavyweight-bout auction of 2017 this evening, realizing £118 million ($143.5 million) for 57 lots with just four unsold. Five artist records were broken in the market melee. The total was 70 percent up over last year’s £69.5 million, though short of the February 2015 London total of £123.5 million.
16 lots with a combined low estimate of £41.3 million ($50 million)—or a little over 50 percent of the low estimate for the whole sale—were guaranteed either by Sotheby’s or a third party making an irrevocable bid. While most had been arranged prior to a consignment, there were several that were announced just before the sale, indicating a new(ish) trend for speculators to guarantee prices for works after they have been consigned.
As we move further into 2017, Significant paintings will come to market and break records for leading artists. This is a seller’s market and with a constrained supply, buyers will compete heavily for the best. On top of that, Asian collectors are set to be the biggest buyers in 2017, elevating the Chinese art market simultaneously.
“2017 may actually be a very stable, nice year.” That’s the conclusion drawn by Doug Woodham from this year’s ArtTactic Global Art Market Outlook. Amidst the current political turmoil and economic uncertainty, he said, the art market could be an island of stability.
*extracted from sothebys