Georgina Adam focuses on the rebound in Orientalist art and comes up with some numbers to illustrate the strength in the category:
As for the commercial arena, while 19th-century painting is one of the few areas not to be lifted by the rising tide of a booming art market—indeed, it has been flat for decades—Orientalism seems to be bucking the trend. Art Market Report’s European 19th-century art 100 Index peaked in September 2008 at 10,099 from a base of 1,014 in 1976—a tenfold increase, but relatively low compared with European impressionists who peaked at 26,651 in October 2008 against a base of 1,014 in 1976. Orientalists do better: a separate index of these artists (including Bridgman, Gérôme, Dinet and Goodall) jumped in 2007, and in October 2010 reached its peak—at a buoyant 52,524 (base, 920 in 1976).
The Lure of the East (The Art Newspaper)
