 |
| Andy Warhol's 'Triple Elvis' fetched $81.9m in New York |
For the fifth consecutive year, Christie's has beaten the annual art sales record, reported a 12% rise in art sales to a record £5.1bn last year, with the growth being partly attiributed to greater connectivity with global buyers.
Similar stories
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The figure
includes private (as opposed to public) sales of £916 million, and online only
sales of £21.4 million. But the majority was for good old-fashioned public
auction sales (up 10 per cent to £4.2 billion). Sales in this category at
Christie’s rose by 33 per cent last year to £1.7 billion ($2.8 billion),
accounting for an extraordinary 40.5 per cent of public auction sales.
It said
all its sales platforms increased during 2014, with Auction sales up 10% to
£4.2 billion. e-Commerce sales rose by 54% and the company said digital access to
its offerings was bringing new customers.
The art
business was boosted by sales of valuable works, particularly in the Post-War
& Contemporary Art and Impressionist & Modern Art departments.
Top
sellers, all in the $70 million to $80 million range, were paintings by Francis
Bacon, Barnett Newman, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol, whose Triple Elvis
silkscreen painting of 1963 sold for $82 million in November. The nearest
challenger is Impressionist and Modern art at £732.5 million.
Volatility
in global markets - at a time of global economic uncertainty - has left art as
an attractive investment option. Chief executive, Patricia Barbize, said:
"Christie’s sales grew by 12% during 2014 and the team has succeeded by
focusing on the art and connecting it to a growing global audience.
Patricia says,
"We continue to lead the art market by offering the broadest opportunity
to collectors globally. The top end of the market grew during the year as
evidenced by the 48% increase in works sold above $10m. Our strategy to develop
in new markets such as China and India and in new channels such as Private
Sales and e-Commerce, has further propelled the global growth of our business.
The
company highlighted Christie’s Fall evening sale in New York, which realised
$852.9m - the highest total ever for an auction in the history of the art
market. It also picked out the sale of Edouard Manet’s Le Printemps (Springtime)
for $65.1m to the J Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Andy Warhol's Elvis
which fetched $82m.
No comments:
Post a Comment