Industry data

Sotheby’s returned to profit in the fourth quarter of 2016, attributing this to improved commissions and growing market confidence, though sales for 2016 overall were down.

Christie’s posted total sales of £4bn in 2016, a decrease of 16% compared to the previous year and well down from the art market’s high watermark of £5.1bn in 2014.

What stories commanded clicks this year? Here is ATG’s list of the most viewed articles on antiquestradegazette.com in 2016, highlighting key industry moments and trends.

The difficulties in securing high-value works for sale lay behind a $54.5m loss posted in Sotheby’s latest set of results.

Sotheby’s has acquired the The Mei Moses Art Indices, a database and analytics tool for tracking the art market and comparing its performance against other assets.

A new study suggests that buying a first edition book, such as Hilary Matel’s Wolf Hall, is a better investment than buying stocks in tech companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo and eBay.

Sotheby’s latest results showed the firm has increased profits despite a significant fall in auction sales. Their share price jumped by over 15% after the figures were released earlier today.

Christie’s has experienced a sharp fall in overall sales. In figures released earlier today the company reported sales of £2.1bn for the first half of 2016, which compared to £2.9bn for the same period in 2015.

TEFAF have said they still will maintain an annual art market report despite losing the services of Dr Clare McAndrew who is joining up with Art Basel.

A new survey shows that 25 to 34-year-olds form the group most likely in the UK to go to fairs or auctions – but the least likely to invest in antique furniture.

Economist and author of the annual TEFAF Art Market Report Clare McAndrew has left TEFAF to join with Art Basel, it has been announced.

Following the release of Sotheby’s disappointing 2016 first-quarter earnings, the financial press was awash with speculation of a new investor.

The global market for art and antiques may have dropped by seven per cent in sales by value last year, but this is “not a signal that the bubble has burst”, the art market’s leading economist told TEFAF 2016 delegates this morning.

Global art sales fell during 2015 with the most significant a decline coming in the Chinese market.

The shake-up at Sotheby’s continued last week as more key senior employees – including Henry Wyndham – depart the company.

Prices for standard English antique furniture fell for the eighth successive year, according to latest figures from the Antique Collectors’ Club’s (ACC) Annual Furniture Index (AFI).

Both Sotheby’s and Christie’s saw sales fall in 2015, a sign that the art market may be slowing.

Leading auctioneers in Ireland and Scotland enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, year of sales in 2015.