Fine art, a traditionally opaque and fragmented market, is now more transparent and democratic than ever before. As fine art sales soar, buyers and sellers are also becoming more familiar and comfortable with art sales’ slow but steady digital migration.

The Global Fine Art Market

And the global fine art market is undoubtedly growing. According to the recent Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report, it reached a total of over $64 billion in 2019. Art auctioneers and sellers in the US, China, and Europe were the major players in these fine art sales, and postwar and contemporary art drove a large portion of the market.

Record-Breaking Art Auction Prices

Recent record-breaking prices for works by artists like Claude Monet, Jeff Koons, and Andy Warhol have bolstered the fine art market as a whole. But works by lesser-known artists continue to drive the market as well, with more than 90% of fine art at auction selling for less than $50,000.

At the high end, postwar, contemporary, and modern art continue to dominate the art market today. Among budding collectors, works on paper by European and American artists of the 1950s and ’60s have become increasingly popular, including drawings, paintings, and prints by the Abstract Expressionists and Pop Artists of the era.

Learn more from the Invaluable Guide to Buying Fine Art.