The year 2022 was a record year at the highest levels of the art market in terms of collections entering the market, expensive paintings and auction house sales.
However, some experts say that selling at the lower end of the market is starting to cool as fears of a US recession grow.
The most expensive artwork to sell at auction this year was Andy Warhol’s US$195 million portrait of Marilyn Monroe, titled “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” sold in May to the famous art dealer Larry Gagosian, who works on behalf of billionaire collectors, although it remains unclear whether he bought it for himself or one of his clients.
The painting, the most expensive painting by an American artist ever sold at auction and the most valuable of the 20th century, was sold as part of the collection of famous Swiss art dealer Thomas Ammann and his sister Doris at Christie’s.
In second place was “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)”, by Georges Seurat, which raised US$149.24 million and was the most valuable artwork sold during the collection’s record auction by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
Also in Allen’s collection was Paul Cezanne’s “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire,” which sold for US$137.8 million, nearly double the artist’s previous auction record. A landscape of Cyprus by Vincent Van Gogh called “Verger avec cyprès” also broke the artist’s auction record when it sold for US$117.2 million during Allen’s auction.
“Maternité II”, by Paul Gauguin, and “Birch Forest”, by Gustav Klimt, both from Allen’s collection, were sold for US$105.7 million and US$104.6 million, respectively, and broke auction records for the artists.
BALANCE OF THE 2022 AUCTIONS
The year was filled with auctions and record prices, but rising economic uncertainty, inflation, the war in Ukraine and concerns about an impending recession have taken a toll on the lower levels of the art market and some aspects of high-end collecting. Art consultant Thomas Stauffer told ArtNet News that collectors are focusing on the high end market amid the threat of a recession.
“Hallowed art acts as a safe haven for preserving value in uncertain times like these,” said Stauffer. “The hugely successful record sales of the Paul Allen blue chip art collection is proof of that.”
Meanwhile, some less notable art auctions had less impressive results, barely meeting or missing pre-sale estimates. After a November sale of modern and contemporary art at New York’s Phillips auction house barely passed its US$114 million estimate, New York collector Max Dolgicer told ArtNews that the market was feeling “more hesitant”, adding that the “exceptional” results from Allen’s collection reflected the realities of art sales in general. “The market cannot go up forever,” he said.
“Sometimes in the art market we are dancing on the volcano when we see what is happening in the world, in Ukraine, in Iran, in Asia, with the difficult Covid situation they are facing now, with the recession in many countries, inflation in many others,” said Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti during a conference call this month, according to ArtNews.
The 60 pieces in the Paul Allen collection fetched US$1.6 billion at Christie’s in November, breaking the record for the most expensive art collection ever sold at auction. It surpassed previous record holders, Manhattan real estate millionaire Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda, whose collection fetched US$922.2 million in two auctions, the second was held in May, just six months before Allen’s sale.
Christie’s said this week that the auction house brought in a record US$8.4 billion in 2022 art sales, driven in large part by Allen’s collection and other high-end level sales. Sotheby’s said its art and collectibles sales totaled US$6.8 billion, down 7% from a year earlier. Phillips said it sold US$1.3 billion, up from US$1.2 billion in art sales reported in 2021.
With information from Forbes
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