Overview of the World Art Market in 2019–2022

Abstract

The research aims to evaluate the damage caused to the world art market by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical instability in the designated period and determine the ways of development of the world art market in the near future. The authors apply the method of comparative analysis to match the economic indicators of the main actors of the world art market for 2019–2022 and determine the significance of digitalization, the growth rate of which exploded with the onset of 2020. As a result of comparing the economic indicators of the world art market for the specified period, the authors note a decrease in the share of sales at fairs and, accordingly, a decrease in the importance of this area, an improvement in the performance of auction houses. Moreover, the authors note the mobility and adaptability of dealers, who actively accelerated the digitalization of the world art market in the COVID-19 realities. The development of the NFT sector’s influence on art market sales is considered separately. In conclusion, the authors summarize the review of the world art market and come to the opinion that the global art market, despite the slowdown in the growth of its digitalization in 2021 and 2022 (compared to 2020) and the unequivocal desire of the actors of the art market to interact mainly in the real world, as well as due to the ongoing geopolitical crisis, will maintain a trend towards ubiquitous digitalization of trade in 2023.