Monitoring Desk
BERN: Even the high-end art market was less frothy in 2020 than 2019 due to restrictions placed on galleries, auctioneers and collectors by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Still, fine art remained big business and sold well. The top 10 sales at auction fetched a total of $453 million. In that group, only two paintings exceeded the $50 million mark in 2020, while nine out of the ten lots topped $50 million in 2019.
The numbers may be smaller but they are eye-watering nonetheless. Even pop art sold: A drawing by Belgian artist Herge depicting his character Tintin sold for $3.1 million at auction earlier this month — the highest price ever paid for comic book art.
Big name galleries, auction houses and exhibitions like Art Basel or Miami adjusted to the “new normal.” Sales at auction houses went online, and viewing experiences, as well as auctions, were enhanced by augmented reality and super-zoom technology.
Telephone bidding had become ingrained in the auction process for some time, but COVID-19 pushed the virtual presence further. A trend that would have taken place over time anyhow was accelerated by the pandemic.
Courtesy: Arab News
