In 2015, Chinese collector Liu Yiqian bought Nu Couche by Amedeo Modigliani for more than US$170 million, among the highest prices ever paid for a painting.
When artworks sell for multi-million figures, the deals make headlines around the world. But what drives these sales, and who decides the value?
Sara Mao, Director for Christie’s Education in Asia, gave an overview of the history of the market for art and how the ecosytem operates today at a Chamber roundtable on 22 October.
“The role of the artist has changed a lot from classical to modern times,” Mao explained.
In the past, the artist was commissioned by a patron, so art was much less of an expression of the artist’s emotions. This evolved over the years, and the 19th century artist Edouard Manet was a leading figure in the move towards more artistic freedom. The role of the artist in defining what qualified as art perhaps found its ultimate expression in Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain – a urinal.
Until the 1950s, artists from the United States were held in little regard, Mao said. Jackson Pollock was among the first to challenge this perception, and he was also very good at self-promotion. Others began to follow suit, leading to another change in focus.
“The spotlight then started to shift from the artworks to the artists themselves – Andy Warhol being the perfect example.”
In the past two decades there has been a huge surge of interest in art, and extremely high sums being spent. Mao introduced the various players in the ecosystem – from academics, auction house and artists to collectors and public institutes – and explained the roles they play.
Galleries and dealers have often been accused of manipulating artists and the availability of artworks. The artist-dealer share on the sale of an artwork is generally 50-50, and the fairness of this split is a long-debated issue.
In fact, galleries discover, nurture and promote artists, and can lead to the artist being shown in major galleries around the world. “Mega-galleries” that often have several global bases are good for giving artists international exposure, but their growth in recent decades means that mid-tier and smaller galleries can get squeezed out.
Auctions are probably the most transparent part of the market. As Mao explained: “The person who keeps his hand in the air the longest will get to take the artwork home.”
The top 10 auction houses handle about 90% of global business, with Christies and Sotheby’s dominating. However, one of the biggest changes in recent years has been the growth of auction houses in China.
“Chinese auction houses have developed immensely in a very sophisticated manner in the last five to 10 years,” she said.
Not only are they operating in a more transparent manner, but also bringing in really great collections and artists, Mao said. And, notably, they are mostly selling Chinese and other Asian works.
Collectors play a major role, with Peggy Guggenheim, for example, being a supporter of Jackson Pollock, among others. There are also “trophy collectors” like Yiqian, who rely on the legwork done by auction houses and other experts to buy the best in any category.
Art fairs also have a big and growing part to play. These major events help to attract new audiences and also support the existence of satellite fairs.
But ultimately, museums are “the final resting place of artists” and more important even than multi-million dollar sales.
“Having your work displayed in a museum cements your status as an artist,” Mao said. “You can sell hundreds of art works at auction, but if your work is not in a museum, people who do not go to auctions will not know about you.”