The Wall Street Journal offers a tally on the upcoming sales in London. The pre-sale total is slightly below the previous year but down 40% from the boom year of 2015.
The Journal insists on describing this as a market slump. Given what we know about several factors related to the sales in those years—the macroeconomic environment and the aggressive competition between auction houses for property—the current market may be closer to a sustainable one. Here’s the Journal’s count:
London’s latest round is set to kick off Tuesday, with Sotheby’s, Christie’s and the smaller house Phillips expecting to sell at least $593 million worth of impressionist, modern and contemporary art combined, down 4.4% from a similar, $620 million series held a year ago.
Is Art Market Recovering? London May Tell (WSJ)
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Christie’s Opens London Sales with Solid Results on Much Familiar Material
Magritte with £14-18m Estimate Leads Surrealism at Christie’s
Who Caused the Market Slump? Cheyenne Westphal & Alex Rotter
Big Rise in Old Master Sales Doesn’t Impress
