In an uncertain economic climate, sales of postwar and contemporary art can act as a litmus test for the art market. These sales – whether in galleries or at auction – reveal a tighter offer and a more demanding market, even if France displays a courageous resilience.

This trend is in with the findings of Art Basel and UBS report The Art Market 2023, which stated that ‘dealers operating in the secondary market […] noted that despite strong sales for specific, historically significant artists, the frenzy of activity some had experienced in 2021 had quietened in 2022, with collectors being choosier about sales and more competitive on prices.’ In today’s increasingly unstable geopolitical climate, are these ‘specific and historically important artists’ akin to safe havens?

At the second edition Paris+ par Art Basel in October, when it came to historical artists, the offerings were of a very high quality: the dark tones of Rothko at Pace or the imposing Maillol at Lévy Gorvy Dayan particularly stood out. At his stand, Hervé Loevenbruck noticed that ‘real collectors’ were back in Paris, including new faces, like the South Korean collector who bought a Philippe Mayaux painting or the French collector Hervé Lebrun, who was the happy buyer of a rare Michel Parmentier piece from 1968.

The particularly high quality generally offered on the secondary market often leads to excellent results. The Art Basel and UBS report noted that ‘Modern, Old Masters, and Post-War specialists all had higher average turnover than Contemporary art dealers.’ However, it’s worth noting that, in the secondary market, while the amounts are more substantial, sales take place over a longer period of time.

Of the fine art dealers interviewed for the report, 13% worked in the secondary market and ‘saw a substantial rise in sales of 22%’; 42% were dealers operating across both segments of the market, who ‘continued to have by far the highest average sales, but experienced lower growth with values increasing by 11%'; and the remaining 45% were dealers working solely in the primary market, who saw sales rise by 20%, going from an average turnover of USD 1.5 million to USD 1.8 million.

‘During Paris+ par Art Basel, we sold Lucio Fontana, Claudio Parmiggiani, Alighiero Boetti, Emilio Isgrò…,’ says Michele Casamonti, the founder of Tornabuoni Arte, ‘We also got the feeling that visitors wanted to see more Old Masters.’ Tornabuoni Arte, which had its stand in the center of the fair, was part of a group of galleries in the same section that specialized in the secondary market including Applicat-Prazan, 1900-2000, Van de Weghe, Le Minotaure and Richard Nagy Ltd. A few steps away, Yves Zlotowski was exhibiting the little-known talent, Jean Gorin, a French neoplastic artist who was close to Mondrian. How do you build a secondary market for an artist like that? ‘You have to buy up the important pieces, promote the less well-known works, and create balanced catalogues,’ explains the gallerist. ‘Working on the primary market is not the same thing as working on the secondary market: You have to have specific knowledge,’ adds Casamonti.

‘In 2001, we were criticized for showing César’s ‘Compressions’ and Villeglé’s work alongside contemporary pieces, but now these distinctions have been forgotten because of the interest in rediscovering artists,’ says Marianne Le Métayer, Director at the Galerie Georges-Philippe et Nathalie Vallois.The secondary market is increasingly becoming a focus for galleries specialized in contemporary art, with some, like Perrotin on the Avenue Matignon in Paris, opening spaces entirely dedicated to it.

Can contemporary art succeed in a secondary market that is more focused on historical pieces? That is the objective for the dealers working in estate management and contributing to a revival of postwar artists like Hans Hartung and Georges Mathieu (Perrotin); Jean Degottex (Mennour); Anna-Eva Bergman, whose popularity has soared since Jérôme Poggi lifted her from obscurity; and Serge Poliakoff, whose estate will be managed by Almine Rech. ‘His work considerably enriches the gallery’s catalogue of abstract 20th-century works,’ Rech explains. It is also a way of ‘reviving a body of work that is maybe little-known on the market, at a time when galleries are opening up,’ says Jérôme Poggi, who, after Anna-Eva Bergman, is doing the same with the Spanish painter Darío Villalba.

This trend is further highlighted by Susan May, Global Artistic Director at White Cube: ‘We started representing our first estate in 2018 (Al Held Foundation) and now work with several others including the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York and Takis Foundation in Athens. We are continuing to expand further into the secondary market, alongside our already well-established work with living artists.’ Jean Frémon, of Galerie Lelong – which represents the estates of Joan Miró, Etel Adnan and Antoni Tàpies – sees this tendency as a natural progression between the primary and secondary market: ‘The gallery will soon celebrate its 80th anniversary, and it has a long list of historical artists that it has represented. Our role is to update that list by regularly including new artists, so that we can continue to be a living gallery.’

In auctions, despite the promising sales results in New York over the past few weeks, indicators for the sector showed a contraction in the first half of 2023, with global sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Bonhams down by 16%. However, Paris is bucking this trend, with the October auctions at Christie’s – replete with household names – marking ‘the biggest week in its history, thanks to exceptional objects and collections,’ according to Paul Nyzam, who heads the postwar and contemporary department for Christie’s in France. This also suggests a growing interest in safe investments. On top of that, international collectors are keeping an eye on France’s art scene. The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2023, shows that collectors in six of the 11 markets surveyed preferred to make their acquisitions in a gallery in France, with collectors in the remaining markets surveyed five putting the Hexagone in second place.

Despite an unstable context, there is room for optimism: 77% of collectors spoken to for the survey were confident about the art market’s performance over the next 6 months. French collectors are particularly optimistic, with 91% of them expressing confidence in the future. The survey also reveals that the wealthiest collectors, who are very active on the secondary market, have ‘a higher majority of deceased artists’ works,’ and that, ‘those spending over USD 1 million in either 2021 or 2022 had a majority of over 60% deceased artists’ works.’

While the secondary market’s robustness makes it a pillar of the art industry, there is now more demand for established or historical artists. There is a new trend emerging in parallel: the rediscovery of forgotten, overlooked or underappreciated artists, which offers a new and richer reading of art history.

Julie Chaizemartin is a journalist and art critic based in Paris. She writes regularly for Transfuge, Artpress and Quotidien de l’Art.

English translation: Catherine Bennett.

Published on November 20, 2023. 

Caption for full-bleed images, from top to bottom: 1. Detail of an artwork presented by Applicat Prazant at Paris+ par Art Basel 2023. 2. Detail of an artwork presented by Pace Gallery at Paris+ par Art Basel 2023. 3. Detail of an artwork presented by Van de Weghe at Paris+ par Art Basel 2023. 4. Detail of an artwork presented by Blum at Paris+ par Art Basel 2023.