BusinessWeek‘s Jill Lawless reminds us that the spectacular Giacometti sale doesn’t mean the market boom has miraculously returned:

“We had this extraordinary bubble in the art market, especially the contemporary art market, and I don’t think it has reinflated on the back of this one sale,” said Robert Read, head of art and private clients at insurer Hiscox. “We have returned to normality, but we’d forgotten what normality was.”

The strength of the art market maybe confined to a few billionaires:

“I think it would be premature, and possibly stupid, to think that the art market is just going to race along,” said Judd Tully, editor at large of Art and Auction magazine. “I think it does indicate that there are at least a handful of ultra-rich individuals who want these world-class trophies.”

Meltdown no more? Records fall as art sales surge (BusinessWeek)