China: The #2 Art Market

Colin Gleadell has a short article in the UK Telegraph that China has now surpassed Britain as the number 2 art market in the world.  According to the article, referencing Clare McAndrew for The European Fine Art Foundation, the US is number one in the world with 33% of the global market, followed by China at 23% and the UK at 22%.

Gleadell reports

The British Art Market Federation has used the report to issue a warning to the government that the proposed Droit de Suite, or artists’ resale royalty tax which will be imposed next year on the sale of all works by European artists who died upto 70 years ago ( ie. Picasso, Bacon and all the biggest money spinners) could divert trade away from the UK, and further diminish its market share, resulting in a huge negative impact on Britain’s cultural economy. This might well be likely.

But the report does not provide key statistics to demonstrate that the Droit de Suite, which is already imposed in the UK on the works of living European artists, has significantly dented the art trade here. To lose market share might simply be an indication of the massive growth of the local Chinese market, which barely registered in any report five years ago.

To read the full article/post in the Telegraph, click HERE. For more info on the report, see the International Business Times which has a bit more analysis and information on the soon to be released The European Fine Art Foundation report. The Finanical Times also reported on the rise of China as the number 2 art market.  Click HERE to read.