ArtTactic in its teaser for the May New York sales report and on their Twitter feed have a few comments on the Contemporary art market, especially as the performance of the New York Evening sales bears upon it:

• Last week’s Post-War and Contemporary Art evening sales in New York raised a total of $759,680,000 (excluding buyer’s premium) against a pre-sale estimate of $685,800,000 – $906,800,000, which is the second highest total since November 2012 ($764 million).
• The sales total was 19.9% higher than May 2012
• The sales total was also 14 % above the peak of the market in May 2008.
• Artworks selling above $5 million accounted for 72% of total sales value in Evening Sales
• Lichtenstein, Warhol, Pollock and Richter account for 50.6% of overall Evening Sale value

Auction Analysis: Contemporary Art, New York – May 2013 (ArtTactic)