Israeli art has posted three consecutive years of solid performance. On December 15th, we will see if the pattern holds as Sotheby’s sells 114 lots.

Although the overall numbers cannot match the boom-time peak of 2007, there’s been a steady consolidation around 2006 levels and well above the previous half of the decade, according to this report from ArtTrustee: Artrustee Israeli Art Market Review (click to download:)

Demand for Israeli art kept rising until 2007, a year in which total sales amounted to $36 million for 2,800 items, up eight-fold (turnover) and seven-fold (lots sold) compared to 2004. A third of total sales originated in Sotheby’s New York Israeli art auctions. The decade’s second economic crisis would again take its toll on the art market. Though the meltdown’s effects on the Israeli economy have been relatively modest, the Israeli art market has not proved to be immune to the economic crisis. The annual turnover in 2008 dropped 37%, totaling $22 million. Global reduction in auction sales turnover was about 10%. 2009 auction results continued to post a 10% reduction compared to 2008, resulting in approximately $19 million. Though annual sales have dropped about 40% in 2008 and 2009 in wake of the global financial crisis, the results for 2010 signify a recovery as all price segments are climbing back towards their 2008 levels.

Artrustee Israeli Art Market Review