Art market experts see rebound in confidence after 2023 slump

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.