Business

Auction Houses See Record Sales In 2021

(Photo by Michael Bowles/Getty Images for Sotheby's)

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Harry Wilmerding Contributor
Font Size:

The world’s three largest auction houses reported record sales of over $15 billion in 2021, highlighting a surge in global wealth and more first-time, young collectors entering the market, multiple sources reported.

Christie’s reported total sales of $7.1 billion in 2021 on Monday, marking the highest figure in five years, according to CNBC. Sotheby’s saw sales surge to $7.3 billion in 2021, the company announced Wednesday, the best year in its 277-year history, and Philips said its sales hit a record high of $1.2 billion.

“Every single category is outperforming,” Guillaume Cerutti, chief executive of Christie’s, told CNBC.

“Our clients aren’t agnostic to the broader economic context, but they’re motivated by passion—and they know now that we can operate well in uncertainty,” Cerutti said, The Wall Street Journal reported. “Higher inflation also helps us because it makes people want things like art that won’t lose value. It makes our market resilient.”

The most expensive piece sold this year was Pablo Picasso’s “Femme assise pres d’une fenetre,” going for $103.4 million at Christie’s, according to CNBC. The second-highest price sale was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s “In This Case,” which sold for $93.1 million. (RELATED: Auction House Seeking $1 Million For Wine That Was Launched Into Outer Space)

Pablo Picasso's Femme assise pres d'une fenetre (Marie-Therese) est. $55 million and Piet Mondrian's Composition: No. II, with Yellow, Red and Blue, est. $25 million, go on view to the public at Christie's on April 22, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise pres d’une fenetre (Marie-Therese) est. $55 million and Piet Mondrian’s Composition: No. II, with Yellow, Red and Blue, est. $25 million, go on view to the public at Christie’s on April 22, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Sotheby’s said 44% of its bidders were new to the market, and half of Philips buyers were also new, according to CNBC. Roughly 35% of buyers at Christie’s were new bidders and a third were millennials.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.