Gallery Sales Dropped 36% as Art Market Reeled from Pandemic

Installation view of “Cosmoscow” International Contemporary Art Fair at Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, Russia on September 12, 2020. Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency. Image via Getty Images.

Art sales are down overall this year despite a surge in online activity, according to two new reports based on surveys of gallerists and collectors, and analysis of auction house data. Taken together, the analyses—one written by art economist Clare McAndrew and published by Art Basel and UBS, the other from art market analytics firm ArtTactic—help quantify the many ways the art market has been impacted since COVID-19 shuttered most galleries, fairs, and auction houses more than six months ago. They also offer a glimpse of areas where the market has managed to adapt for survival and future success, and others where it’s falling short.

McAndrew’s report, “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Gallery Sector,” draws on survey responses from 795 galleries and 360 high-net-worth individuals who collect art, and paints a sobering picture. Her findings show galleries seeing significant drops in sales that they’ve offset in part through painful layoffs, upticks in online sales, drop-offs in travel and fair-related expenses, and support from government programs. It also suggests many collectors have continued to support the galleries and artists they knew before the pandemic, largely via digital sales channels, but haven’t been connecting with new dealers and artists as often as prior to the pandemic.

The ArtTactic report, “RawFacts Online-Only Auction Review, January–August 2020,” looks at leading auction houses’ efforts online between January and August, as nearly all in-person sales ceased. While Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s have clocked far more online-only sales already in 2020 than they did in all of 2019, Sotheby’s in particular has emerged as the winner in the digital shift thus far. The report suggests online-only sales will be a more significant part of all three houses’ businesses going forward. But, as in the gallery sector, auction houses’ digital efforts can’t singlehandedly make up for the loss of in-person transactions.

Change in total gallery sales from H1 2019 to H1 2020. © Arts Economics 2020.