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Measuring London's Contemporary Sales

January 17, 2009 by Marion Maneker

Bloomberg is trying to gauge the Contemporary art market based on the estimates for next months auctions in London. Scott Reyburn does some back of the envelop estimating:

The evening auctions by Sotheby’s, Christie’s International and Phillips de Pury carry a total low estimate of 38.4 million pounds ($55.9 million), according to Bloomberg calculations. This is 23 percent of the 164.3 million pounds in equivalent sales estimates in 2008.

By our calculations, the $56 million estimate level is consistent with 2005 for London’s February sales. A 76% drop in market activity is dramatic and substantial by any measure. But a return to the 2005 price level would be a victory for the Contemporary market–and a sign of the market’s persistence. Some numbers to watch will not only be sale totals but where the average price ends up.

Here’s a chart of London sales in dollars:

london-contemporary-sales

And here is a chart of the average price level for the London sales:

avg

Bacon, Koons Star as London Art Sales Drop to 23% of 2008 Level (Bloomberg)

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  • Sotheby’s London Contemporary Evening = £118m ($144.5m)Sotheby’s London Contemporary Evening = £118m ($144.5m)
  • Phillips London Evening = £14.66m ($17.9m)Phillips London Evening = £14.66m ($17.9m)
  • Christie’s London PWC Evening = £96m ($118m)Christie’s London PWC Evening = £96m ($118m)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Contemporary, London, Market Data

About Marion Maneker

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