It’s time to take stock of the major movers and shakers in the art market. While the year 2023 was marked by a general decline in sales volume, certain names are still reaching new auction peaks. A new report from Sotheby’s and ArtTactic highlights these artists, whose pieces often sell for stratospheric sums.
This list was compiled by analyzing sales of the key names in the art sphere whose works were auctioned, each year, for more than a million dollars between 2018 and 2022. And the top spot goes to Pablo Picasso.
Canvases by the Spanish master sold for an average of $13.1 million at the auctions Sotheby’s organized between 2018 and the first half of 2023. His Cubist creations are particularly coveted by bidders from North America, as well as Baby Boomer buyers. Interestingly, younger collectors, ie, Millennials and Gen Z, account for just 7% of Picasso bidders.
Claude Monet and Andy Warhol are ranked second and third respectively by Sotheby’s and ArtTactic. A total of 16 paintings by the Impressionist painter were sold at Sotheby’s between 2018 and the first half of 2023. They brought in $220.3 million for Patrick Drahi’s company. That’s nearly three times the amount generated by Andy Warhol’s works over the same period ($75.6 million).
And artworks by women?
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gerhard Richter and David Hockney are also among the ten most bankable artists at Sotheby’s, along with Francis Bacon and Zao Wou-ki. Surprisingly, the Chinese-born French painter is the only one whose works are coveted by Generation Z buyers, even though they are still in the minority compared to Baby Boomers (7% vs. 59%).
Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gerhard Richter were responsible for 37% of sales of works analyzed for the Sotheby’s and ArtTactic report. These five artists’ works are particularly sought after by buyers from North America, followed by buyers in Europe and Asia. Overall, more than a third of collectors attempting to acquire works by the 50 most bankable artists on the market come from North America.
Over the past few years, women artists have seen their pieces become increasingly sought-after at auction. But the report highlights the fact that they are still struggling to find their place among the most profitable artists. Only four of them appear in the Sotheby’s and ArtTactic top 50: Joan Mitchell (no. 17), Yayoi Kusama (no. 19), Cecily Brown (no. 39) and Helen Frankenthaler (no. 47).