Key Insights on Auction Sales

Art MarketArt Market Trends

Jun 2

Written By Oliver Webb

Auction Sales: Key Findings

Decline in Public Auction Sales: Following record-breaking high-end sales in 2022, public auction sales decreased by 7% in 2023 to $25.1 billion. This drop was due to a significant reduction in transactions exceeding $10 million, causing a sharp decline in overall value. However, sales in middle and lower-priced segments continued to grow.
Increase in Private Sales: Private sales by auction houses increased by 2% to an estimated $3.9 billion, contrary to the overall declining trend. Total sales, including both public and private, fell by 5% year-on-year to $28.9 billion, though this was still above the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
Dominant Markets: The US, China, and the UK remained the largest auction markets in 2023, holding a combined 74% share of public auction sales by value, a 3% decrease from the previous year. China’s market rose to match the US with each holding a 31% share, driven in part by postponed sales from 2022. The UK held a stable 12% share.
China's Market Surge: China experienced a 14% increase in auction sales to $7.9 billion in early 2023, driven by pent-up supply and demand from postponed 2022 sales. However, the second half of the year slowed down due to weaker economic growth, rising debt, real estate market issues, and sluggish global demand.
High-End Sales in the US: Despite losing some market share, the US remained the key center for the highest-priced auction sales worldwide. Eight of the top 10 lots were sold in New York, including five of the six lots sold for over $50 million. The US accounted for 74% of the value of the top 50 fine art auction lots.
Contraction in High-End Sales: Sales of artworks priced over $10 million, which had been the fastest-growing segment in 2021 and 2022, saw the lowest growth in 2023. The number of lots sold for over $10 million fell by 25%, and their value decreased by 40% year-on-year. In contrast, the market for works under $50,000 showed positive growth.
Long-Term Growth in High-End Segment: Despite the decline in 2023, the $10 million-plus segment has grown by 380% since 2009, compared to 16% for the market under $50,000. Adjusted for inflation, the $10 million-plus segment has more than doubled in size, while the under-$50,000 segment has contracted in value.
Post-War and Contemporary Art: This sector remained the largest in the fine art auction market, with a 53% share by value and 55% by volume, totaling $6.5 billion in sales, a 16% decline from 2022. Contemporary art sales dropped by 10% to $2.2 billion, while Post-War art fell by 18% to $4.3 billion.
Recent Works' Market Share: Nearly 36,000 works created in the last 20 years were sold at auction in 2023, accounting for 30% of the Post-War and Contemporary sector by value, up from 25% in 2019 and 17% in 2017.
Modern Art Sales: Modern art accounted for 24% of fine art auction sales by value, a 2% increase year-on-year. Sales declined by 6% in 2023 to $3 billion, just below the 2019 level.
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art: This sector made up 14% of fine art auction sales in 2023, a 4% decrease from 2022. After a strong recovery in 2021 and 2022, sales fell by 35% in value to $1.7 billion in 2023 despite a 6% increase in lots sold, slightly below the 2019 level.
Old Masters Segment: In 2023, sales of Old Master artworks in China increased by 15% to $1.1 billion, just below the 2019 level. However, the European Old Master sector saw a 17% decline to $481 million, down by 32% over the last decade.

Overall Trends:

2023 saw a shift in the pace of sales across different segments and regions. The high-end market, crucial for post-pandemic recovery, thinned out significantly, leading to a 7% decline in public auction sales.
The pandemic in 2020 caused a 30% drop in public auction sales, but the market rebounded in 2021 with over 50% growth in public auction sales and a third increase in private sales.
In 2022, despite some record-breaking sales, overall market growth was stagnant, with public sales dropping by 1% and private sales by 8%.
2023 marked a distinct regional and segment shift, with significant activity at lower price levels and a spike in sales in China due to reopened postponed auctions. Public auction sales fell by 7%, while private sales grew by 2%, with total auction company sales estimated at $28.9 billion, a 5% decrease from the previous year but 5% higher than pre-pandemic 2019.

Top-Selling Lots of 2023:

Notable sales included Pablo Picasso’s Femme à la Montre ($139 million), Gustav Klimt’s Dame mit Fächer ($109 million), Claude Monet’s Le Bassin aux Nymphéas ($74 million), Jean-Michel Basquiat’s El Gran Espectáculo ($67 million), and Francis Bacon’s Figure in Movement ($52 million).
Chinese auction houses also saw significant sales, with works by Wang Meng and Cui Ruzhuo featuring among the top 50 lots.

The detailed analysis indicates varied performance across different regions and price segments, highlighting a year of contrasts and significant shifts in the global auction market.