Christie's Looks Forward to 2010 After Decline in 2009

The Antiques Trad Gazette has a good article on how Christie's fared during a difficult 2009.  The ATG states that Christie's is looking forward to a rebound year in 2010 after seeing sales slump 24% in 2009. Christie's believes the traditional auction markets will return in 2010 (perhaps we just saw that at the recent Sotheby's Impressions and Modern sale) and continued strength from mainland China and the middle east. One statistic that caught my eye was private sales were down 1% from 2008, where I would have expected this line item to have shown growth as there were signs the major houses were doing a more behind the scenes transactions and sales.  The percentage of gross for private sales was up in 2009, from 9.5% to 12.5%, so private sales were active and contributed more to the gross as a percentage than in previous years.

An interesting statistic reported the growth of online bidding . Christie’s LIVE recorded 30% of all bids and 14% of all winning bids with nearly 50,000 online bids.  The growth and acceptance of the internet continues, and will continue to grow as more and more young collectors come of age who are more comfortable behind a computer than on the phone in the "room".

The ATG reports

chief executive Ed Dolman was upbeat, saying he had expected much worse – which it would have been without the £304.9m Yves St Laurent sale in Paris last February.

He said the total gave them a 56.4 per cent split of the market they share with Sotheby’s.

Headline figures show a 59 per cent fall in post-War and Contemporary art totals to £244.3m, a 24 per cent drop in Impressionist and Modern works to £500.9m and a 29 per cent decline in Asian Art to £265.1m.

However, Old Masters – seen as one of the strengthening sectors in the recession – were up by six per cent at £181.2m, while decorative arts surged 149 per cent to £77.4m, no doubt boosted by the St Laurent sale.

Christie’s declared private sales of £265.7m, down one per cent on 2008 totals, but up as a share of the overall total from 9.5 to 12.5 per cent. These include deals brokered by Christie’s as well as sales by the firm’s wholly-owned subsidiary, the contemporary art dealership Haunch of Venison.

Christie’s saw a rosier picture when it came to bidding behaviour.

“While sales volumes decreased on previous years, the stability of the art market and the appetite of the global buying audience were demonstrated by a significant increase in average auction sold rates by lot,” they said.

“In 2009, average auction sold rates rose five per cent to 80 per cent from 75 per cent last year. The percentage of lots sold at or above high estimate also increased to 36 per cent, illustrating sustained price levels and the continued intrinsic value of art.”

To read the full ATG report, click HERE.