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Summary
In 2020, the art market faced a major slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide sales of works of art and antiques fell by 22% on the previous year, to a value of $50.1 billion. Of this, art dealers and galleries, excluding auctions, accounted for $30.1 billion. Online art sales notably doubled, reaching a record $12.4 billion, and accounted for 25% of total sales, in stark contrast to the previous year's 9%. The USA, China and the UK continue to dominate the market, accounting for over 80% of total transactions.
France was hard hit, with 78% of galleries and dealers reporting a drop in sales. In terms of market structure, the dealer and gallery segment was dynamic, with a mix of long-established and newly-established entities, and a trend towards diversification of offerings, including primary and secondary market transactions.
French art market trends: Stability amid digital transformation
The French art market, considered a beacon of culture worldwide, demonstrates consistent representation on the global art scene, holding a 6% share, making it the fourth largest art market in the world. Sales on the French market have remained stable over the years, fluctuating between 4.5 and 5 billion dollars, reflecting the stability of the British market without the extreme fluctuations seen on the Chinese and American markets.
The art dealer and gallery segment in France is particularly robust, with around two-thirds of national art sales and a market size of around $2.8 billion in 2020. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, which led to a drop in sales and changes in operations, the art gallery sector in France has managed to maintain a certain level of resilience, with 65% of art dealers and gallery owners expecting their sales to stabilize or increase over the next five years.
Digitization was the art market's lifeline during the pandemic, with online sales doubling in value and reaching record levels. The sudden shift to online buying platforms enabled galleries and dealers to survive the limits of closures, although the French market was harder hit than the global average. Art collectors in France tend to follow global trends, with a significant proportion of gallery and art dealer sales coming from private individuals - almost three-quarters, to be precise.
Artistic preferences are increasingly oriented towards contemporary art, as evidenced by the fact that over two-thirds of art galleries in France are devoted exclusively to this art form. In addition, there is a notable interest in both living and deceased artists, with a considerable number of galleries representing a mix of both, providing diversification and risk mitigation akin to "portfolio diversification". In terms of geographic distribution, the Île-de-France region dominates, with the vast majority of galleries located there.
Age doesn't seem to be a barrier in this sector, as almost half the galleries are relatively young, under 20 years of age, indicating a dynamic and evolving market. Yet challenges remain, and galleries are not immune to operating costs. Expenses such as staff costs, rents and other operational costs can account for between 35% and 50% of total revenues.
Despite these challenges, the outlook for French galleries is optimistic, with a strong desire to return to face-to-face events such as art fairs and exhibitions, which have always been vital to the community for presentation.
Key players in the global and French gallery and art dealer markets
The art market is a dynamic and fascinating space, brimming with creativity, history and a diverse range of players from small family-run galleries to international powerhouses. In the field of art and antiques, a handful of select institutions stand out for the important role they play in shaping industry trends and contributing to market vitality.
- Singulart: Embracing the digital age, Singulart represents the modern face of the art market, responding to the growing demand for online art sales. As a platform that has seamlessly integrated technology with art curation, Singulart has become an important player for art lovers who prefer to browse and buy art in the comfort of their own homes. Its online presence has become increasingly important in light of the market evolution induced by the recent pandemic.
- Kazoart: Another digital pioneer, Kazoart has carved out a place for itself in the virtual art world. As an online gallery, it offers collectors access to a wide range of artworks, from the latest to the oldest, underlining the convenience and reach of e-commerce in today's art market.
- Artsper: Further proof of the art market's move towards digital proliferation, Artsper is a marketplace that connects galleries and collectors. By offering a platform for buying contemporary art online, it reflects the sector's adaptation to a world where online transactions are increasingly widespread and vital to continued growth.
- CPGA (Comité professionnel des galeries d'art): At the heart of the French art scene, the CPGA defends the interests of art galleries and plays an essential role in defending the sector. Its knowledge of market trends, preferences and the operational aspects of galleries helps shape policies and facilitate the growth of the French art market.
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Detailed content
Inforamtion
- Number of pages : 30 pages
- Format : Digital and PDF versions
- Last update : 01/06/2021
Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
The art market refers to the production of and trade of works of art and antiques. The art dealer and gallery market focuses on art dealers, which accounted for 58% of global art sales in 2019, and therefore excludes auctions (42% of global sales) which are the subject of another study.
According to Wondeur AI's classification, the production of works of art is divided between the star artists (1% of artists in the world), the renowned artists (1%), the established artists(14%) and the emerging and under-represented artists (84%).
The art market can also be segmented by category of work (sculpture, painting etc.), by period (contemporary, modern etc.) and by price range.
Global art dealer sales were worth US$36.8 billion in 2019, a slight increase of 2% over 2018. However, players with sales of less than $1 million experienced a sharp decline (- 9%) in contrast to those with sales between $250,000 and $500,000 (+ 17%).
The biggest challenges for the next 5 years cited by art dealers in 2019 will be to find new customers and to deal with the economic environment and geopolitical issues that strongly influence the demand for art.
In 2019, art dealer and gallery sales accounted for nearly two thirds of French art sales . The French art market is characterized by its high stability . The current economic situation also favours galleries and art dealers, who are considered more secure than auctions. The specific features of the French market, which is less speculative, more fragmented and diversified, also play in its favour. Thus, in 2020, 65% of art dealers and gallery owners expect their sales to remain stable or increase over the next five years.
In addition, the digitalization of the market accelerated during the containment due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This digitisation is not only manifested by the emergence of online galleries and platforms such as Singulart, Kazoart or Artsper, but also by the growing influence of online information tools and social networks such as Instagram.
1.2 The global market
In **** global sales of art and antiques were valued at **.* billion dollars, shrinking **% from the previous year and **% from ****. As mentioned above, the auction of art accounts for around **% of this market, meaning that the subjects of this study, art dealers and galleries, account for the remaining **% [***]. The market for art ...
1.3 The French market
France is considered by many as the cultural capital of the world. Therefore, it may be surprising that (***) France only holds around *% of the global art market, in terms of value, making it the fourth-largest market in the world [***].
Major art markets World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****
As we ...
1.4 Imports & exports
Using the United Nations Comtrade database, we can observe and analyse global trade flows. The market under consideration is categorised under the following code:
** - Works of art; collectors' pieces and antiques
These are the type of commodities that are bought and sold by art dealers and galleries. The figures ...
1.5 Impact of COVID-19
Globally speaking, the COVID-** pandemic had rather negative impact on the market for art dealers and galleries, decreasing by **% from **** to reach a value of around ** billion dollars [***]. This is due to the enforced closures mandated by governments worldwide and the incompatibility by definition between the nature of the virus (***) due ...
2 Demand Analysis
2.1 Who buys art ?
There are two important trends to consider in the world of art which shape the dynamics of the market:
It is a globally integrated market (***) It is highly concentrated and correlated with global wealth (***)
Due to these two factors, there is often a similarity between global trends and more localised trends ...
2.2 Artistic preferences: contemporary, modern & ancient
Evidently, people who buy artwork and antiques in France appreciate contemporary art. In fact, more than two thirds of art galleries in France sell exclusively contemporary pieces of art, with the total proportion of galleries that sell contemporary art rising to almost more than eight in ten when considering galleries that ...
2.3 Preferences in authorship, dead or alive, French or foreign
While, as mentioned above, the majority of galleries are contemporary art galleries, deceased artists are not forgotten and are represented by contemporary, modern and antique art galleries.
Only **% of galleries exclusively represent living artists. Representing and selling (***)energising the market of deceased artists is not a risk-free activity, but the ...
2.4 New trends in demand: the advent of online sales
Despite a significant decrease in global art sales, online art sales doubles in value from **** to reach a record high of **.* billion dollars [***]. Online sales accounted for *% of total sales in ****, compared to **% in ****, marking the first time that the market share of e-commerce exceeded that of general retail.
When speaking ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Different sized galleries
Art galleries and dealerships can be very small, nice, family run businesses that specialise in one artist or type of art, or they can be high-end luxurious behemoths that cater to all artistic desire. The case is no different in France. In fact, in **** there were galleries that had revenues inferior ...
3.2 Primary and secondary markets
The primary market is when an artwork is presented in a gallery or at a fair for the first time. Thus, the price of the work is set for the first time. In more technical terms, a designer, jeweller or artist sets the price with the gallery owner or dealer based ...
3.3 Employment
Generally speaking, it seems that almost three in four French galleries are small enterprises, with four employees or fewer. Only one in twenty galleries employs more than ten people.
Breakdown in dealer and galleries, by number of employees France, ****, in % Source: ****
Galleries with only one location have few staff, with **% of ...
3.4 Galleries and the digital world
In ****, more than one in four French galleries started updating, improving and modernising their websites. This is a clear impact of the pandemic as more and more business started to move online (***). Almost **% of French are planning to update their websites within the next two years.
Breakdown of art galleries planning ...
4 Analysis of the offer
4.1 Age and geography
The average French art gallery is ** years old. Almost six in ten galleries are under ** years old, with only **% of them being over ** years old.
Breakdown of art galleries, by age France, ****, in % Source: ****
An overwhelming majority (***) establishment is.
Breakdown of the location of the second establishment of art galleries, ...
4.2 Expenses for art galleries
On average, galleries estimate that expenses encompass between **% and **% of their total revenues [***]. The graph below the different areas of expenses and the proportion of their revenues which galleries spend on them.
Breakdown in expenses for art galleries, by type of expense (***) France, ****, in % of galleries Source: CPGA To clarify, **% of ...
4.3 Sales
As mentioned above, more than **% of art purchases are completed by individuals. It is interesting to analyse to whom art galleries sell art to. Half of galleries in France sell to businesses and museums. One fifth of galleries sell to FRAC (***).
Main buyers of art from art galleries (***), by type France, ...
4.4 Priorities and outlooks for the future
The thing that three quarters of French art galleries are looking forward to in the future is the return of art fairs and trade shows. Two thirds also consider client and collector relationships and networking among their priorities for the future. Issues such as environmental responsibility and the search for new ...
5 Regulation
5.1 International regulations
Property looted during the Second World War is internationally prohibited from sale and must be returned to its owners or rightful claimants [***].
In ****, as part of the fight against the financing of terrorism, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution **** which prohibits trade in goods "illegally removed from Iraq since * August **** and ...
5.2 French regulations
Since the law of ** November ****, there is no time limit on the handling of stolen works of art.
The French Ministry of Culture annually releases a Deontological Code for Art Galleries. This document
This reference tool makes it possible to enhance and secure the profession of gallery owner and its professional ...
6 Positioning of the players
6.1 Segmentation
- Sotheby’s
- Christie’s
- Drouot L’Hotel
- Artcurial
- Piasa
- Aguttes
- Tajan
- Galerie Kamel Mennour
- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
- Galerie Vallois
- Iris Galerie
- Art Basel
- Galerie Perrotin
- YellowKorner
- Galerie Karsten Greve
- KazoArt
- Millon & associés
- Mypoparts
- Daniel Templon Galerie
- EAC École Artistique et Culturelle
- Beaux Arts Magasine
- Bonhams
List of charts
- Ventes mondiales des marchands et des galeries d'art
- Marché de l'art - Répartition des parts de marché, en valeur
- Âges des galeries d'art, par tranche d'âge
- Chiffre d'affaires annuel des marchands et des galeries d'art (en dollars)
- Les principaux marchés mondiaux d'art
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Latest news
Drouot.com emancipates itself from the auction house - 18/03/2024
Proceeds auctioned to Internet users in 2023: 344 million euros, representing a 3.5-fold increase in 4 years.
- Online sales in 2023: - 1,400 auctions.
- - Number of registered bidders 290,000.
- - Goods sold : 204,000 lots.
Customer base:
- - average age of Drouot.com account holders 45.
- - Share of professional buyers down from 31% to 23%, in favor of private buyers.
- - 58% of buyers come from France, with strong representation from the USA, UK and Belgium.
Expansion of the platform:
- - 785 homes for sale by 2023, representing a two-fold increase in 4 years.
- - One in three sales by a foreign player.
- - 170 European houses, excluding France and Belgium, conducted 1,800 sales in 2023.
- - Nearly 60 houses operating outside the European Union, from around ten countries.
Competition:
- - Interenchères saw its live and online art sales increase by 5%, totaling 248 million euros.
- - Drouot.com faces several international competitors, including Lot-Tissimo in Germany and The Saleroom in England.
Paris + by Art Basel brings contemporary art to the capital - 19/10/2023
- The global art gallery market represents sales of 37 billion dollars.
- 48% of these sales are generated by contemporary art (artists born after 1945).
- 11% is generated by modern art (artists born between 1910 and 1945).
- The contemporary art market will increase 22-fold between 2000 and 2022.
- Some works can exceed the million euro mark, with Rauschenberg going for $2 million, George Condo for $2.35 million and Marlene Dumas for $3 million.
- Dealer Daniel Templon invests around 80,000 euros to take part in Paris +, and generates half its sales at ten or so fairs worldwide.
- According to gallerist Nathalie Obadia, Paris + generates around 12-15% of her annual sales, and the 'four Art Basel' represent up to 30-35% of her sales.
- Of the 150 galleries present at Paris +, only 30% are French.
Artcurial wins out over Christie's and Sotheby's - 08/08/2023
- Artcurial was founded in 2002 and became the third-largest player in the French art market in 2005.
- In 2022, Artcurial achieved record sales of €216.5 million.
- Arqana, a racehorse auctioneer affiliated to Artcurial, achieved a sales volume of 225 million euros and sold almost 5,000 horses in 2022.
- It ranks second in the European market.
- Artcurial set up operations in Monaco in 2015, Morocco in 2019 and Switzerland in 2022.
- Artcurial also owns the John Taylor real estate group, acquired in 2017, with a portfolio of 6,000 properties worth €16 billion.
- The Artcurial group's consolidated sales in 2022 were €1.6 billion, making it one of Europe's leading intermediaries for exceptional properties.
Colony at Perrotin: the globalization of art. - 14/06/2023
- Galerie Perrotin, American investment company Colony takes control of 60% of the company's capital.
- Founded in 1990, ranked among the world's top six in the 2022 ArtReview Power 100.
- Offices in Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Dubai and Los Angeles 160 employees, 140 million in sales by 2022
- Represents around a hundred living artists or estates
- Colony IM: manages assets worth 3 billion euros
Art fairs: at 25, Art Paris gets its revenge on Fiac - 31/03/2023
- Art Paris is the only major French fair in its category.
- The fair features 60% French talent.
- The fair welcomes 134 exhibitors from 25 countries.
- Art Paris hopes to attract some 70,000 visitors this year.
The secrets behind Art Basel, the Swiss fair that pushed Fiac out of the Grand Palais - 01/11/2022
- Art Basel wins the 2019 RMN-Grand Palais tender
- Art Basel also has events in Miami, Hong Kong and soon in Paris
- In 1970, three gallerists - Ernst Beyeler, Trudi Bruckner and Balz Hilt - launched the first art fair in their home town of Basel
- The event attracted 90 exhibitors and attracted major international galleries, collectors and curators alike
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