Online auctions or on-site auctions?
Despite the auction houses closing to the public, news from the art market of global online auctions continues to be positive. According to a new analysis of Artnet’s price database, the number of global online auctions held last month increased by 63% compared to the equivalent period in 2019. This shows that the art market is moving consistently on the web. In an interview with Artnet, the co-founder of Artvest Partners’ consultancy firm Michael Plummer states that: “Online sales will increase because it is difficult to purchase art in any other way. But the question is: what will be the extent of the change? “.
Online auctions are likely to become increasingly common, but it is unlikely that they will increase enough to compensate for current losses: the next two months will be necessary to determine whether the exponential curve that auction houses are going with online initiatives will gradually increase . Few believe that traditional face-to-face sales rescheduled for the summer will be possible, but surely this moment will be fundamental to ascertaining how far online sales will be preferred over home sales.
