LAST year’s art market was one to forget. The gallery dinners and VIP days and benefit galas continued as they always had; evening sales still sold, art fairs still opened, dealers still inaugurated shows with smiles and news of “significant museum interest” in whatever they were trying to sell.

But according to a report from UBS and Art Basel, global sales of art and antiques were down about 4 per cent year over year at US$65 billion, well below the 2014 high of US$68.2 billion.

You could feel it in the field, where auctions were good, not great; art fair sales were fine, not frenzied; and dealers did their best to put on brave faces as they explained that, well, actually, some pieces were still available. Christie’s reported a 25 per cent decline in sales by value; Sotheby’s said its numbers stayed about even, though it included such non-art things as real estate and car auctions in its total.