Bloomberg asked Artnet to rank 2012 auction turnover for the top artists and got some interesting new numbers. Yes, Warhol, Picasso and Richter dominated the list. And, yes, Zhang Daqian was also still among the top artists even if his sales turnover tumbled by more than two-thirds. What’s most interesting is the steady state of the public Warhol market when the anecdotal impression was that Warhol was weakening this past year:
1. Warhol $380.3m
2. Picasso $334.7m
3. Richter $298.9m
4. Zhang $241.6m
In 2011, the sales were:
1. Zhang $782.4
2. Warhol $379.4m
3. Picasso $366
Richter ~$200m
Warhol Tops Picasso Sales, Richter Leading Living Artist (Bloomberg)
