For the past few years analysts have been commenting that “emerging economies” have been fueling the rapid increase of the art market. The three economies that have had the biggest effect on the market are Russia, China and India and they have had the biggest effect on Russian, Chinese and Indian art. For anyone who still wants more detail on how exactly this is happening, read Sotheby’s new Art Market Review on Russian art.
Simply put, Russia (or China or India) have experienced a huge increase in personal wealth. The new political climate in Russia has allowed for more exploration of commodities like oil and the increased international trade has resulted in several very wealthy individuals in the former communist region. (Or course there is still a great deal of inequality in the region, but as it affects the art market, we will only talk about the wealthy classes.) Now that there are several new multi-millionaires in Russia, those moguls are showing major interest in the art of their country from nineteenth-century landscapes to Soviet era conceptula works. According to Sotheby’s analysis, Russian buyers accounted for 31% of the lots sold and 32% of the total sales volume.
Other strong economies such as Switzerland, Ukraine and UK showed interest in Russian art, but the United States bidders fell short when the hammer fell. Americans definitely showed interest with 42% of the bidders coming from the US, but the weakened economy appears to be keeping Americans from snapping up the premium works. The total sales volume driven by Americans was only 18%.
So as we gear up for an interesting year in the art market, there will definitely be bright spots. Look to the Russian, Chinese and Indian auctions to set new records as these economies and their patriotism continues to drive prices. And look for some key works to be snatched away from US Collections as the dollar continues to slide on the global economic stage.
