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The Maastricht, Netherlands-based foundation, which puts on
the annual European Fine Arts Fair, one of the world's largest,
said a 7 percent year-on-year increase had pushed the market
above its 2007 level of 48 billion euros.
But while total value reached a new peak, the number of
transactions was down from its 2007 level. The bulk of the value
came from large sales.
About 1,530 lots worth more than 1 million euros were sold in
2014, including 96 worth more than 10 million euros. While they
accounted for only 0.5 percent of all the transactions, they
provided almost half the total value of the market.
"It continues to be a highly polarized market, with a relatively
small number of artists, buyers and sellers accounting for a
large share of value," said Clare McAndrew, the economist who
compiles the report.
There were some 13.7 million high net-worth individuals in the
world at the end of 2013, up 15 percent on the year before, with
total wealth of $53 trillion, according to the report.
At the bottom end of the market, a growing number of low-value
transactions took place online. Total internet-based sales of
art and antiques were estimated to have reached 3.3 billion
euros in value in 2014.
The United States accounted for 39 percent of global art sales,
making it the largest art market in the world, followed by China
and Britain, which each accounted for 22 percent of sales.
The largest segment of the global art market was the post-war
and contemporary market, accounting for 48 percent of all fine
art auction sales. Modern art, by artists born between 1875 and
1910, accounted for 28 percent of the total.
(Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Larry King)
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