Analysis

Art marketanalysis

How luxury buyers are changing art as we know it

The trade is increasingly reliant on an ultra-wealthy international clientele that lives what may be termed a ‘luxury lifestyle’

Make politicians wear hats and Banksy carry the Olympic Torch: we look back at ten years of e-petitions to the UK government

Of the 169 online campaigns related to the arts since they were introduced, only three have been debated in the House of Commons

Art's Most Popular: here are 2019's most visited shows and museums

Ai Weiwei was a hit in Brazil, records were broken in London and Paris—but is this the final year of museum visitor growth?

Is the UK museum boom over?

Analysis of government data and The Art Newspaper's own figures reveals a steady decline in visitors since 2014

How Egypt is destroying Cairo and civil society

The pharaonic new museum will not make up for misguided policies

OFAs (old French artists) are the new YBAs

François Morellet and Pierre Soulages are among the pioneering Modernist masters gaining wider recognition around the world—not least because of attractive pricing

In the beginning: women kickstart South Asia scene

Female artists, collectors, curators and philanthropists are playing a leading role in developing the arts scene in South Asia

Artnews

Art in shopping malls: it’s all product after all

Art has long been hitched to luxury goods, but it is now becoming a more democratic—or commercial—concept as malls begin to incorporate exhibition space

Did Taiwan miss its chance to play in the international art market?

Despite generations of collecting and a favourable tax regime, the island faces formidable competition

Women and Italians first: the surprise results of the London auctions

Market turns on its head as buyers show less interest in the usual contemporary, blue-chip names

For the Arab world, Palmyra was just another day

Complexity of Syrian war and rise of Isil underpin muted response to ongoing destruction of ancient site

Analysiscomment

Taste, sound, smell: have curators gone too far?

Two galleries recently staged shows that engaged other senses as well as vision. Our editor and a technology writer disagree on their merits

Analysiscomment

What is art for? We ask, leading cultural figures answer

Twenty-five years ago, when The Art Newspaper was founded, the Berlin Wall had just come down and it seemed that a future of peace and progress lay ahead. The reality has been worse than one could possibly have imagined

China crisis puts global art market on alert

Buying was visible at the very top, but the confidence this gave is now on the wane

Lawnews

Collectors vs art advisers: the trouble with verbal contracts

The Maleki case exposes the perils of mixing business with friendship in the art world

Online art sales are on the up—and so is fraud

Retailers need to do more to protect buyers from fraudsters selling fakes as online art businesses attract more investment

Lawcomment

Self-censoring museums have to be braver

The fear of public opinion or the hint of legal action can cause nervous curators and directors to cancel shows when they might not need to

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Art critics need to get serious if they want to thrive online

The long read could counteract superficial reviews that focus on search engines or sales

Flipping art: filthy lucre or a sound business plan?

In 2014 we noted that market speculation can offer rich rewards, but in the long term, it may do collectors more harm than good

Art marketarchive

What Chinese collectors are really buying

While ancient art and ceramics remain popular, Contemporary Chinese art is taking off at home, and buyers outside the mainland are slowly looking toward Western art

How are start-up commercial galleries faring in the age of the mega-gallery?

The Lower East Side houses New York’s more avant-garde spaces, but can it compete with Gagosian et al?

May 2010archive

Why do certain works still set auction records during recessions

We noted in 2010, amid a painful global downturn, that a Picasso nude carried the largest pre-sale auction estimate in history at $70m to $90m

July 2009archive

How to beat the recession: cut costs, slash prices, don’t lie and be creative

During the Great Recession in 2009 we reported that gallerists must act "quickly and brutally" in order to survive

Mortgage crisis and resulting stock market plunge be damned—the party isn’t over yet

In 2007 we noted that strong sales at auction and fairs and more money coming from Russia, Indian and Chinese collectors indicated that confidence in art remained strong

Comment: if the hedge funders ditch art, new buyers will emerge

In 2007 the economist James Sproule examined the risks facing the market—and the good news was it was not all doom and gloom

July 2007archive

Comment: the problem with a collector-driven market

There is a danger that money will trump knowledge, observed the New York dealer in 2007

Art fairsarchive

European collectors dominate, Americans in short supply at Art Basel

Strong buying at this year’s fair, but good works are getting harder to find

July 2007archive

It’s definitely a bubble, but when it will burst is anybody’s guess

The veteran dealer Richard Feigen on the state of the art market in 2007