Racing to get out ahead of Clare McAndrew’s TEFAF report on the art market, Artprice.com has issued their own report for 2013 which includes this grab-bag of interesting numbers. Notice in the graph above the sudden surge in autumn sale volume. Due to a few quirks in the auction calendar, the first six months of the year account for greater sales volume (there are simply more major sales in that period.) But last fall’s acceleration of the art market can be seen starkly above. Will it continue?

$12.2 billion: the total Fine Art auction revenues in 2013.

15,000: the number of new artists’ records posted in 2013.

8,400: the number of new living artists who entered the secondary market in 2013.

+15%: the variation in art prices in 2013, calculated by the Artprice Global Index.

1,519: the number of hammer prices above a million dollars throughout the world.

33%: the US’s global market share. With $4 billion, it posted its best year in the art market, but nonetheless finished behind China for the fourth year running.

27%: the combined market share of the seven European countries in the Top 10: the UK (17.5%), France (4.5%), Germany (1.7%), Switzerland (1.3%), Italy (1%), Austria (0.5%) and Sweden (0.5%).

$9 billion: the total auction revenues for the 500 highest-rated artists in the art market. In 2013, the 500 highest-rated artists represented 75% of total sales results for only 15% of lots sold.

1888: the average year of birth for artists sold at auction in 2013. With 47% of sales volumes, modern art still dominated the art market, despite a growing appetite for living artists (20% of the market in 2013 compared with 8% in 2003).

The Art Market 2013—The Best Year Ever (Artprice)