Kelly Crow points to an interesting new cinundrum in the market. David Norman tells her the Sotheby’s Imp-Mod sale was dominated by a “handful” of Chinese buyers. Global collectors may set prices today but they’re clearly not dictating tastes.
Were they, we’d be seeing Asian or other non-Europen artists at the top of the price heap:

Masterpieces by the likes of Picasso typically sell well in any season. But the international art market is seeing seismic shifts in the way it behaves, according to longtime dealers and auction executives. Gone, for example, are the days when collectors in Europe and the U.S. dictated tastes and drove prices. Today’s art market is being steered by a bigger and more geographically diverse pool of collectors than the blue-chip buyers of a generation ago.

Art Market Sees New Auction Highs, New Rules