ArtNews is out with it’s Top 200 list. There are few surprises (look for yourself) but the accompanying commentary on the state of the market has interesting observations on the causes of the art market’s rapid recovery:

William Ruprecht, Sotheby’s CEO, said, “As things get better, people with wealth come back into the art market and it gets better faster than the overall economy. And when things deteriorate, our business deteriorates even faster than the global economy. It’s faster on the way up and faster on the way down.”

Auction houses see things differently than galleries, according to Michael Findlay, director of Acquavella Galleries in New York.

“They have a few nights a year for their major auctions,” he said. “We have people who are looking and shopping and buying and we are buying and selling all year. The auctions represent a tip of the art market visible to the press and the public. We are aware of a surge and an ebb, but it’s not as high a contrast as the way auction houses see it, because our businesses are different. It all depends on the material. It’s the same market—things are getting better, but we just look at it in a different way.”Continue Reading