Global art market value 2007-2022

Global sales in the art and antiques market increased by nearly three percent in 2022 over the previous year. Overall, the total value of transactions in the art market worldwide amounted to 67.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, reaching the second-highest value reported in the past 15 years. Meanwhile, the sales volume in the art market worldwide rose by 1.3 percent in 2022 but remained below the figures recorded prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The rise of the online art market

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, auction houses and art dealers strengthened their digital departments to cope with the lockdowns and closures enforced due to the health crisis. As a result of the digital boost, online sales of the art and antiques market worldwide skyrocketed in 2020, then went up further in 2021. While online sales experienced an annual decline in 2022, they remained significantly higher than in pre-pandemic years.

Are NFTs here to stay?

When in March 2021 auction house Christie’s sold an NFT-based work by American artist Beeple for 69.3 million U.S. dollars, the interest in non-fungible tokens and crypto art exploded. That said, the global NFT sales value in the art segment fluctuated heavily in the following months, reporting an overall declining trend.