The Australian art auction market has ended 2021 on an unexpected high. Despite a slow start to the year, with the pandemic locking down galleries and salerooms, investors are reporting good returns. The year closed with sales close to $120 million, snapping at the heels of the 2017 sales peak of $142 million.
Despite the global battening down of the hatches causing an initial deadening, the eyes of keen Australian investors soon turned towards the domestic market. With lower interest rates dulling traditional returns, auction houses took advantage of itchy investment fingers and an increased willingness to buy online to secure impressive sales.
Notable results include Jeffrey Smart’s ‘The Arezzo Turn-off II’ (1973) selling for $1.35 million at Deutscher and Hackett in December, and Smith & Singer's record for a contemporary work by a living female artist - ‘Wild Carrot Dream’ (2015) by Del Kathryn Barton - reaching $405,000 in their November Important Australian Art sale.
Although not everyone will be able to purchase million-dollar artworks, physical fine art is no longer an asset class that appeals only to the super wealthy. Many smaller traditional investors looking to diversify their assets in uncertain times have turned to the art market and younger buyers are taking advantage of the Covid-driven shift to online auction sales. All of which points to solid growth and a strong market in 2022.
Swan Deverell Auctioneers hold regular online auctions of contemporary established and emerging artists throughout the year. Our sales offer the perfect entry into art investment, giving you the opportunity to purchase a tangible, and beautiful, asset.
To learn more about buying with Swan Deverell Auctioneers, please read our Buying Guide.
See:
Raffan, J. (2021, December 9). ‘I am woman, watch me soar, with dollars (finally) too big to ignore’. Retrieved from Australian and New Zealand Art Sales Digest : https://www.aasd.com.au/index.cfm/news/950-i-am-woman-watch-me-soar-with-dollars-finally-too-big-to-ignore/
Yazdinian, N. G. (2021, August 3). The Emergence Of Art Collection As An Investment Against Inflation. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/08/03/the-emergence-of-art-collection-as-an-investment-against-inflation