PR88022

PARIS, Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Somewhat counter-intuitively, the dematerialization of auctions has not

greatly improved the transparency of the secondary art market. For sure, it has

never been easier to bid for a work of art, but the information required to

appreciate the full quality of a piece and to accurately gauge its value is no

more precise in the sales catalogs than it was before.

In some cases, it is also no longer possible to have any real contact with a

given lot before it goes under the hammer. Artprice is therefore redoubling its

efforts to offer a complete range of tools that allow its members to follow all

the works put up for auction and fully understand the evolution of their prices.

"Online sales have not yet completely proven their credentials" says thierry

Ehrmann, President and Founder of Artmarket.com and its Artprice Department.

"There are still some traces of mistrust regarding the quality of the lots

included in online-only sessions. Notably, there are rumours that estimates are

not exceeded as often as in live sales. In any case, the results for 2020 show

all the market's indicators positive territory. Even the most sensitive of

them, the unsold rate, has remained perfectly stable".

Still too early to draw conclusions...

The high-end market has been particularly slow over the past twelve months. For

example, Jeff Koons' annual turnover dropped 97% in 2020. Very few of his major

pieces were consigned for sale during the year, and the two that were (with the

highest estimates) failed to sell during live ("normal") sessions. Clearly,

owners of Jeff Koons' works believe it is better to wait.

As William Baumol discussed in his 1986 article Unnatural Value, a sort of

monopoly exists for each and every work of art. Owning a single work, or one

produced in very few copies, necessarily introduces a form of information

asymmetry. Fortunately, this asymmetry can be reduced by having an objective

and reliable source of information, such as the one offered by Artmarket.com

via its Artprice subscriptions. Its databases systematically list (i.e without

any bias or preference) all public auctions of works of art and this enhances

clarity regarding the price construction process.

Two types of essential information

Auctions constitute the sector of the art market that is considered the most

transparent since lot descriptions as well as the results must be made public.

However, not all relevant information is always presented in a catalog, such

as, for example, the identity of the former owners of a work. Moreover, the

websites of auction operators - even those of the major houses - make it very

difficult to search for information on past sales of similar works.  

The notion of market "transparency" suggests primarily two types of additional

information which must be easily accessible: the characteristics of all the

products, but also, for each product, the quantities offered and sought after.

The advantage of the services offered by Artprice subscriptions is that they

are based on an exhaustive and structured collection of all the results of

public auctions around the world. Our standardization of the main

characteristics of artworks - dimensions, year of creation, auction estimates,

references to catalogues raisonnes, etc. - makes it easy to identify those that

match your precise search criteria.

Because the number of results can be very high, Artprice makes available to its

subscribers (Advanced and Professional) a complete set of interactive

statistics for each artist. These provide a global and essential overview of

past sales that includes chronological price evolution, geographical

distribution and breakdowns by price range and category (medium).  

Better fluidity... but not better transparency

The digitization of sales catalogs and the proliferation of auction platforms

have certainly improved the fluidity of the art market. But transaction costs

have not fallen - they have actually risen. Moreover, the information disclosed

by Auction Houses is not more detailed. Artprice has however noticed one

exception: certain operators have taken to indicating number of bids recorded

on each lot during an online sale, thereby providing an additional measure of

the market's appetite.

In order to remain independent, Artprice has decided not to allow bidding

directly on its platform, preferring to provide direct links to the websites of

partner Auction Houses. Artmarket.com and Artprice are therefore more than ever

putting everything in place to provide additional services to those offered by

the Auction Houses, by providing all players in the art market with a reliable

and impartial information platform.

Artprice wants to ensure that all its subscribers get unlimited consultation of

all past sales results (including those catalogued in the Enrique Mayer

publications since 1962 and those in Hippolyte Mireur's famous Dictionary of

Art Sales (1700-1900)) and to all future sales, and to all available

decision-making tools.

Images:

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Copyright 1987-2021 thierry Ehrmann www.artprice.com - www.artmarket.com

Don't hesitate to contact our Econometrics Department for your requirements

regarding statistics and personalized studies: econometrics@artprice.com

Try our services (free demo): https://www.artprice.com/demo

Subscribe to our services: https://www.artprice.com/subscription

About Artmarket:

Artmarket.com is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and

Euroclear: 7478 - Bloomberg: PRC - Reuters: ARTF.

Discover Artmarket and its Artprice department on video:

https://en.artprice.com/video

Artmarket and its Artprice department was founded in 1997 by its CEO, thierry

Ehrmann. Artmarket and its Artprice department is controlled by Groupe Serveur,

created in 1987.

See certified biography in Who's who(C):

https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2019/10/biographie_oct2019_WhosWho_thierryEhrmann.pdf

Artmarket is a global player in the Art Market with, among other structures,

its Artprice department, world leader in the accumulation, management and

exploitation of historical and current art market information in databanks

containing over 30 million indices and auction results, covering more than

748,000 artists.

Artprice Images(R) allows unlimited access to the largest Art Market image bank

in the world: no less than 180 million digital images of photographs or

engraved reproductions of artworks from 1700 to the present day, commented by

our art historians.

Artmarket with its Artprice department accumulates data on a permanent basis

from 6300 Auction Houses and produces key Art Market information for the main

press and media agencies (7,200 publications). Its 4.5 million 'members log in'

users have access to ads posted by other members, a network that today

represents the leading Global Standardized Marketplace(R) to buy and sell

artworks at a fixed or bid price (auctions regulated by paragraphs 2 and 3 of

Article L 321.3 of France's Commercial Code).

Artmarket with its Artprice department, has been awarded the State label

"Innovative Company" by the Public Investment Bank (BPI) (for the second time

in November 2018 for a new period of 3 years) which is supporting the company

in its project to consolidate its position as a global player in the market art.

Artprice by Artmarket's 2019 Global Art Market Report published in February

2020 :

https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2019

Index of press releases posted by Artmarket with its Artprice department:

http://serveur.serveur.com/press_release/pressreleaseen.htm

Follow all the Art Market news in real time with Artmarket and its Artprice

department on Facebook and Twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom/ (4.9 million followers)

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Discover the alchemy and universe of Artmarket and its artprice department

http://web.artprice.com/video headquartered at the famous Organe Contemporary

Art Museum "The Abode of Chaos" (dixit The New York Times):

https://issuu.com/demeureduchaos/docs/demeureduchaos-abodeofchaos-opus-ix-1999-2013

L'Obs - The Museum of the Future: https://youtu.be/29LXBPJrs-o

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(4.4 million followers)

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Contact Artmarket.com and its Artprice department - Contact: thierry Ehrmann,

ir@artmarket.com

SOURCE: Artmarket.com