2020 will have been a completely new year for the art market. While the health crisis had serious consequences for the various players, it also allowed the exceptional development of online art sales on the internet. Far from being demoralized, auction houses and artists have competed for originality to keep buyers and collectors engaged. Artsper looks back on 10 facts that marked the art market in 2020!
DAVID HOCKNEY SELLS “THE SPLASH” FOR 27 MILLION EUROS
David Hockney, The splash, 1966 ©BBC
The beginning of 2020 was marked by the exceptional sale of a work by British artist David Hockney ! Estimated between 23 and 35 million euros, the painting had finally been sold by Sotheby’s London for… 27.4 million euros! The sale is all the more spectacular when we know that this same work had already passed into the hands of an auctioneer in 2006 and was then bought for 3.9 million euros!
A FAKE GAUGUIN AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN WASHINGTON?
Paul Gauguin, L’invocation, 1903 ©Barneby’s
This episode was a real controversy in the world of museums in 2020! Two museums in the United States, The National Gallery in Washington and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, have been suspected of exhibiting fake works by artist Paul Gauguin. The accusation comes from an amateur art collector, Fabrice Fourmanoir, who points out various inconsistencies in the paintings. The two institutions take the doubts of this true arts detective very seriously and it is no coincidence… Fourmanoir notably proved in January that the Getty Museum in Los Angeles housed a fake sculpture of the post-impressionist artist! The two American institutions are said to be still investigating whether or not the paintings hanging on their walls are the work of a (rich) forger.
A STOLEN VAN GOGH PAINTING
Vincent Van Gogh, Jardin du presbytère de Nuenen au printemps, 1884 ©UNESCO
On the night of March 30, 2020, the Singer Museum, located in Laren in the Netherlands, was the victim of a break-in, but above all… the theft of an infinitely precious painting: “The Garden of the presbytery of Nuenen in the spring”, painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1884. Whether you believe in coincidence or not, know that the work was stolen 167 years prior to the day, after the birth of the famous painter, on March 30, 1853. According to Dutch art expert Arthur Brand, the painting is estimated between 1 and 6 million euros. To this day, the masterpiece of this famously cursed painter has yet to be found…
T-REX SKELETON SELLS FOR $ 31.8 MILLION, SMASHING DINOSAUR RECORD
“Stan”, skeleton of “Tyrannosaurus rex” exhibited at Christie’s New York ©Le Monde
On October 6, 2020, history and paleontology enthusiasts were on the lookout for the sale of a T-Rex skeleton. Christie’s New York estimated its worth between 6 and 8 million dollars. It took just 14 minutes for the complete dinosaur skeleton to sell for 31.8 million dollars! 12 meters long, 4 meters high and 188 bones strong, “Stan” the T-Rex is 87 million years old!
INVADER SELLS RUBIK MONA LISA FOR 480,000 EUROS AT AUCTION
Salvador Dalí, La montre molle, 1970 ©Artcurial
A Stockholm gallery was the victim of a terrible theft at the beginning of 2020. Indeed, the Color Gallery, in the elegant Östermalm district of the Swedish capital, has seen ten of its sculptures stolen. The creator of these works is far from unknown, as it is the famous Salvador Dalí. So, how much is the thieves’ loot? According to the gallery owner, each work is estimated between 20,000 and 50,000 euros! Among the stolen statues was notably a famous example of “soft watches”, of which there are only 350 numbered copies worldwide!
#SHOWMETHEMONET: 2ND AUCTION RECORD FOR A WORK BY BANKSY
Banksy, Show Me the Monet, 2005 ©Connaissance des arts
Bansky is famously always being talked about in the art market! On October 21, 2020, the most teasing of street artists saw one of his paintings fly away for 8.5 million euros at Sotheby’s in London. Having revisited a work by the famous impressionist painter Claude Monet, Bansky once again addresses a critique of consumer society and its harmful effects on the environment.
Without a doubt, 2020 was a pivotal year for the art market. Between news items, thefts, record sales, and scandals of all kinds, the art world is full of crisp, unforgettable anecdotes!