In 2017, the total turnover of the global art market reached 63.7 billion USD. The United States was the largest market. China and the United Kingdom came next. These three markets combined accounted for 83% of total sales.
Price inflation is mainly caused by the emergence of new buyers, especially from the Gulf countries, China and India.
The growth of this sector reinforces the need for insurance. Museums and collectors are more focused on securing their nuggets.
Between 2009 and 2020, the average annual global art market reached 51 billion USD.
Due to the health crisis, the sale of works of art at auction decreased by 22% in 2020. However, a rebound of 117% was recorded between summer 2020 and summer 2021. Digitalization and the increased use of online sales are among the factors that have supported the recovery of the art market.
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The most expensive artworks in history: top 10 according to the insurable value
| Artwork | Artist | Insurable Value |
|---|---|---|
Salvador Mundi | Leonard de Vinci | 450.3 million USD |
Women of Algiers | Pablo Picasso | 179.36 million USD |
Red Nude (or Reclining Nude), (front view) (1917-1918) | Amedeo Modigliani | 179.4 million USD |
Red Nude (or Reclining Nude) (seen from the back) (1917) | Amedeo Modigliani | 157 million USD |
Three Studies of Lucian Freud | Francis Bacon | 142.405 million USD |
Pointing Man (or Man Pointing) | Alberto Giacometti | 141 million USD |
The Scream | Edvard Munch | 119.9 million USD |
Young girl with a flower Basket | Pablo Picasso | 115 million USD |
Untitled | Jean-Michel Basquiat | 110.5 million USD |
Silver Car Crash | Andy Warhol | 105 million USD |
Artwork Insurance: major claims that may affect masterpieces
The fact that more and more works of art are moving around the world makes it indispensable to insure them. Today, collectors shift their art pieces between several premises. Museums multiply loans to supply the schedules of temporary exhibitions. Auction houses send their key works on world tours before the sale.
Insurance coverage and shipping are now among the largest items of expenditure for most commercial galleries and museums. The stakes are high and the insurance products offered are increasingly numerous.
According to Joe Dunn, President and Chief Executive Officer of specialized broker Huntington T. Block, 85% of the claims affecting works of art are generated by transit losses. Natural catastrophes as well as acts of terrorism represent another threat for art collectors.
Burglaries are also a significant risk. The most spectacular recent example is the robbery of the “Musée d’Art Moderne” of Paris in 2010 where art works worth more than 100 million euros were stolen.