World art sales fell in 2023; It is estimated at 65 billion dollars

The global art and antiques market fell in 2023 after two years of growth. Despite the 4 percent annual decrease last year, standing at 65 billion dollars, the figure was above the levels prior to the covid 19 pandemic, led by the purchase of rich countries in the world.

These data were revealed by the eighth edition of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2024, whose author is the cultural economist Clare McAndrew, from the consulting firm Arts Economics.

The firm said global art market sales adjusted to an estimated $65 billion, showing resilience despite a year-on-year slowdown, but exceeding 2019 pre-pandemic levels of $64.4 billion.

According to the aforementioned study, the United States maintained its leadership in the world art market last year, with 42 percent of sales in value, which represents a decrease of 3 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, China surpassed the United Kingdom as the second world art market, with a share of 19 percent, which made the Asian country the most important of the new markets, while the United Kingdom fell to third place, with a share of 17 percent. France maintained its position as the fourth largest art market, with 7 percent of global sales.

According to the projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United States is the richest country in the world, with an estimated gross domestic product for 2024 exceeding 27.5 trillion US dollars, to give an example of the country that leads in the art market. .

Followed by China, with 17.7 billion; United Kingdom, with 3.33 billion, and France, with 3.05 billion dollars.

Likewise, online sales of art and antiques already represent 18 percent of the market’s total turnover.

Confidence in global online sales resurfaced in 2023, despite its decline a year earlier, rising 7 percent year-on-year and reaching an estimated $11.8 billion.

Although below the 2021 peak of $13.3 billion, sales were still almost double what they were in 2019 or any previous year, and accounted for 18 percent of total market turnover.

Looking ahead to 2024, 36 percent of dealers expect sales to increase, while 48 percent expect sales to remain more or less the same, while 16 percent anticipate a decline.

Compared to the end of 2022, when smaller dealers expressed the most optimism, in 2023 larger dealers were more hopeful, with 54 percent expecting an increase.

The considerably more moderate growth in sales over the past two years is a reflection that various areas in the market have recovered at different speeds.