Christie’s reported its 2015 sales today. The company made £4.8bn in sales which is down 5% from the previous year and translates in $7.4bn. Overall, the change reflects a minor shift in the firm’s sales mix as the Contemporary market was off and sales in Europe and Asia were down slightly.

The biggest drop seems to have come in private sales which were down 39% in Sterling terms and 43% in Dollar terms.

Robin Pogrebin got these interesting quotes from Stephen Brooks who speaks for CEO Patrizia Barbizet:

 “China long term is one of the single largest art markets in the world,” Mr. Brooks said. “We haven’t seen any evidence of contraction at all in terms of the Asian buyer base.”

Christie’s and the art market seem to be reflecting the global macro environment in a muted form. The market is off slightly.

Post-War & Contemporary £1.5bn (down 14% in £ but 20% in $)

Impressionist & Modern £1.3bn (up 57%)

Private Sales £554.9m (down 39%; $851.2m down 43%)

Luxury (Jewelry, Watches & Wine) £493.4m (down 13%)

Asian Art £478.6m (up 9%)

Old Masters £154.9m (down 37%)

Geographic

Americas  £2.4bn (up 19%)

Europe £1.4bn (down 18%) but Paris £159.5m (up 15%)

Asia £525.6bn (down 2%)

Christie’s 2015 Sales at $7.4 Billion, a 5 Percent Drop  (The New York Times)