From Katya Kazakina at blomberg.com:
Decline driven by weaker demand in Asia, report shows
Postwar and contemporary art sales also down for the year
It’s official: The bull market for art is taking a breather.
Global art sales fell 7 percent last year to $63.8 billion, led by a slowdown in Asia and weaker demand for postwar and contemporary art, the European Fine Art Foundation said in its annual art market report on Wednesday. It’s the first decline since 2012, when purchases fell 12 percent.
The market for art is cooling as financial markets show signs of weakening after a seven-year bull run that pushed prices for many risk assets to records. Even as sales fell, the top of the market was still going strong last year, with hedge fund manager Ken Griffin paying $500 million for two Abstract Expressionist paintings in a private transaction. Pablo Picasso’s painting “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O)” fetched $179.4 million, the highest auction price for any artwork, at Christie’s in May.
“While the change to a negative trend in 2015 could indicate a cooling in the global market, particularly in certain sectors, some slowdown was inevitable,” according to the report. “As sales reached a much higher level during the last ten years, it has become harder to maintain continued growth, particularly in a supply-limited art market.”
The value of the art market increased by 78 percent from 2005 to 2015, the report said. It’s up 61 percent since the recent low during the financial crisis in 2009.
To continue reading: Art Market Rally Halts, Sales Fall for First Time Since 2012
