This analysis of the Swann Galleries'  is available to AMMpro subscribers. Monthly subscriptions begin with the first month free. Feel free to subscribe and cancel before you are billed.

The growth of the African American art market has been a buttressed in some of the most important ways by the efforts of Nigel Freeman and his team at Swann Galleries. Beginning in 2009, Freeman and Swann have steadily built the market for Modern and Contemporary art by African-American artists. Until 2015, growth was limited. But from 2015 to 2017, Swann's African American sales were substantially higher over both sales held that year. The new market volume wasn't sustainable but over the next two years, Swann was able to steadily increase sales auction by auction.

This analysis of the September 2019 Mid-season Contemporary in New York is available to AMMpro subscribers. Monthly subscriptions begin with the first month free. Feel free to subscribe and cancel before you are billed.

Sales during the Mid-Season Contemporary auctions in New York rose again by almost 12% this year over last. The total sale for all three houses was $64m an increase over last year's $57.3m and the $46.6m made in 2017. The rate of increase is slowing. But the total sales volume and the average price of a work sold in these auctions is still higher this year over the last two. Sell-through rates remains the same and only slightly fewer lots were offered this year as last year.

What is surprising to learn is that after years of growth in this so-called middle market, some shifts are beginning to emerge. The top ten lots sold that week accounted for almost a quarter of the total sales volume in September. That's up from closer to 21% the year before. The hammer ratio was also a weak .96 suggesting the estimates are now fully in line with buyer's expectations.

This AMMpro post is made possible with data from our friends at Pi-eX. Subscribers will see charts made from the last 10 years of Q2 data compiled by Pi-eX. Monthly AMMpro subscriptions begin with a free month before you are billed. Feel free to cancel your subscription before you are billed if you do not like the information provided.

Pi-eX compiles the reported sales figures at the three international auction houses. In an effort to track activity in the art and luxury auction markets, Pi-eX reports regularly on the quarterly results. Separately, they report on the annual results.

Here we see charts of the last ten years of second quarter results. With the overall numbers broken down three different ways: by type of property (including whether the property came from an significant estate); by region; and by auction value with breakdowns by sales above $100m, below $100m and less than $10m.

The headline here is that although the second quarter of 2019 was below the total for 2018, the key difference in outcomes was not a decline in the market but the absence of some huge private collections sold during the period. Whether we look at the total sales for the auction houses—including design objects, watches and other property—or we only consider the sales of fine art, the chart says the same thing.

From 2016, when the market went through a dramatic reset, to present, there has been a steady rise is fine art sales. The Q2 total for Fine Art was about the same in 2018 and 2019 if you remove private collections like the massive Rockefeller sale and the Mandel collection. That plateau was still higher than 2017 and 2016. So the market's fall this year is better understood as a return to trend. Though that trend is slowing.