The art market: Recovery position

All eyes are on the art market in the coming weeks as observers try to assess the potential impact of the economic situation on art sales. Can art repeat its gravity-defying performance since the 2008-09 crisis, when its rapid recovery startled even seasoned observers? Figures from Art Market Report (AMR) show that its Art 100 index (a basket of everything from Fragonard to Warhol) and its modern and contemporary art indices peaked in 2008, dropped sharply in 2009 – and rebounded in 2011 to 2007 levels. Francis Outred, head of contemporary art at Christie’s London, says that the sales during Frieze next month, which he is currently preparing, are of a higher value than the equivalents of last year. “This indicates a continuation of the recovery since the 2009 crisis,” he says.

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