Art economist Clare McAndrew’s 2018 total art market report was published by Art Basel and UBS in March. She found that the art economy in 2017 reached $63.7bn in total global sales, a rise of 12% from the previous year.
Private and gallery sales were estimated at $35.2bn, with auction sales contributing $28.5bn. The staggering $450m paid for Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi in November 2017 at Christie’s in New York made up 11% of the auction market figure.
In 2018, the strong trend of the art market seems unstoppable. Global art buyers spent almost $3bn on art in New York over a two-week period in May.
Christie’s’ turnover amounted to $1.79bn, of which $833m was raised from the collection of the late David and Peggy Rockefeller.
This impressive collection broke the previous record of $484m raised for the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge private collection.
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