Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

Points for Style

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Russian art sales are typically a mishmosh of Russian periods and styles, and next week’s sessions at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and MacDougall’s are no exception. The earliest dated painting on offer is a waterfront scene from 1815 by Andrei Martynov, (offered at MacDougall’s with an estimate of £170,000 to £250,000) while the most recent, Valery Yershov’s Vigin Soil Upturned (at Sotheby’s for £12,000 to £18,000) dates to earlier this year (is the paint even dry yet?).

In terms of value, the sweet spot is really early 20th-century avant-garde art; the top three prices achieved at Russian art sales in the past five years went to 20th-century works conceived before 1930 by  esteemed members of the vanguard, Konstantin Somov, Natalia Goncharova and Alexander Iacovleff. When average prices and boom-era growth are taken in to account, however, avant-garde art is not the star of all Russian styles. To find out which styles—and specific schools—grew in value during the boom, see the latest edition of The ART Report.

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Russia's Post-Boom Blues

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Was Russian art’s recent influx in value just a boom-era phenomenon? Russian sales achieved most of their highest prices in 2007, when works like Konstantin Somov’s The Rainbow soared in the sales room, overthrowing their estimates by factors of two, three and sometimes even four.

Since 2007, however, both high and average prices in the category have ceased to climb. For analysis of Russian art’s current value, as well as a comparison between Russian art and art from other emerging markets, see the latest edition of The ART Report.

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Taking Stock of Russian Art

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In anticipation of the Russian art sales beginning at Sotheby’s London on Monday, Art Research Technologies has devoted the latest edition of The ART Report to Russian paintings, drawings and sculpture.

The 8-page report is available below:

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Honey, I Shrunk the Botero

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Whether you love it or love to hate it, there is no avoiding the roly-poly repertoire of the Colombian artist Fernando Botero (see ART’s Latin American ART Report for rankings of Latin American artists by volume, value and single high price).

This week, 23 Boteros are estimated to bring in between $5.4 million and $7.4 million at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The most highly estimated Botero, a 2002 cast of Woman on a Horse that stands more than eight feet tall, is offered at Christie’s on Wednesday with an estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million (pictured above right).

A very similar Botero horsewoman, this one cast in 2000,  is available at Sotheby’s (pictured above far right). Measuring a little more than half the size of the Christie’s Botero, the Sotheby’s lot is a little less than half the price ($350,000-$450,000).

For information about recent trends in Botero’s market,

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Art Price Releases 2008 Trend Report

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Art Price has released it’s 2008 Trends report. There’s great information in here if you’re willing to do the leg work. But let’s see if we can pull out some highlights.

  • Sotheby’s and Christie’s together account for only 16% of art sales but 73% of the value.
  • London and New York are now tied for market share with 35.6% and 35.75 respectively.
  • Picasso, Bacon, Warhol, Hirst, Monet, Giacometti, Richter, Degas, Fontana and Yves Klein are the top ten artists by auction turnover in 2008.
  • ArtPrice.com doesn’t think the art market will suffer a five year slump similar to the last rapid downturn in the early 1990s because of the broader global buyer base.
  • But if you look at the figures on global turnover, the art market has a long way to fall just to reach the levels of 2001-2003 which was the last slump in the current era. Auction turnover then was a third of 2007’s peak.

Art Price 2008 Trends report

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