London’s sale cycle of Impressionist and Modern art confirmed the strength of this market but suggests a decline in intensity. Average prices for the evening sales remain fairly stable around the $2m level with brief spikes driven by exceptional sales such as the Giacometti in London last Summer.

The real question about the Impressionist and Modern market is whether the trend emerging in the graph below is cyclical or secular. In other words, was the Summer of 2010 the peak of the London Impressionist and Modern market?

Or are we simply seeing a brief pull back driven by a constrained supply of highly sought after work?