art & lifestyle

Evaluating
Contemporary
Art

Information Sources & Strategies

Results of an international empirical study
AXA ART Survey 2017
AXA ART Survey 2017
Evaluating Contemporary Art

Foreword

“For many, price is key – the more expensive, Even to the specialist eye, the workings of the contemporary art market are
the more important. I try to advise all young artists not to offer shrouded in mystery. At any given time, the value of any piece appears to be
based on a complex interaction of intangible factors – from the subjective
their works at low prices, for then they will have no value. judgments of influential tastemakers to the current brand-recognition
For collectors, price is just an indication of what they might factor of the artist concerned. Aesthetic quality – normally a touchstone for
measuring value – often trails in last in a capricious evaluation process.
have to spend, or where they can start to bargain - in order to get
the best deal for an object they’ve already decided to buy.” For collectors and art market professionals alike, this stubborn lack of
transparency presents a serious problem. Without any reliable guidance, how
Auction House Representative is it possible to invest in the contemporary art market with any confidence?
What is anything ever really worth, and why?

It’s a critical question for us at AXA ART as much as it is for our clients and
partners. So to shed some light on the issue, we commissioned a new study in
collaboration with the University of Kassel. Following on from the acclaimed
AXA ART Collectors’ Survey, the results – drawn from an international survey
of art experts –represent the first serious academic analysis of the inner
workings of the global contemporary art market. Our aim is to provide an
objective and balanced guide to understanding contemporary valuation,
in all its complexity.

In addition to demystifying the evaluation process, this study also

incorporates a listing of the best online and offline indexes which buyers can
access for specialist information on current artists, their market reputation
and sale prices. This is important because different indices address different
purposes; so we have endeavored to compile a comprehensive range that
meets all needs.

We hope you find this survey both insightful and supportive, and that by
lifting the veil on the contemporary art trends and values, it enables you to
approach the market with fresh knowledge and confidence. My personal
thanks and those of all of us at AXA ART go out to Prof. Dr. H. Dieter Dalhoff,
whose expert scientific direction has been invaluable in bringing this research
to publication.

Kai Kuklinski
Global CEO of AXA ART

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

Introduction

“Art indices give only clues – they often falsify Often provocative, sometimes outrageous, but always pushing at the
because they do not keep the market and art value apart. boundaries, contemporary art polarizes opinion, evoking strong reactions
from devotees and detractors alike. Its unerring ability to stir up controversy
Today large collectors and auction houses are the great manipulators has spawned a thriving and fascinating global market, which is simultaneously
of the art market. Indexes do not reflect truths. incredibly complex and – at least to the outsider – virtually impenetrable.
It’s like buying with the ears. Indexes do not reflect truths, Until now, economic science has not attempted a definitive analysis of how
they reflect only market value. All indices have weaknesses, the contemporary art market works. This study, which summarizes the results
as they highlight specific aspects that need to be questioned.” of an international empirical survey, aims to remedy that omission, by viewing
the market’s core processes through the prism of behavioral science.

Gallerist Specifically, we address the following issues:

• What are the relevant information and evaluation tools,
and how are they used?
• What are the criteria for evaluating contemporary art?
• What is the role of the price?
• How do the evaluation processes work in practice?
• Are art indexes and databases the solution to the problem of evaluation?

To answer these questions, we first examine the structure of the

contemporary art market and offer a practical survey of existing information
sources and evaluation tools.

This is followed by the results of our survey, for which we interviewed

art experts from various countries about their information and evaluation
strategies. The results are interesting – and, in part, surprising.

Prof. Dr. H. Dieter Dahlhoff, University of Kassel

Kassel, November 2017

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

A. Contemporary art: a complex market

The market for

contemporary art As any serious investor or art market professional can testify, the
market for contemporary art is extraordinarily complex. Unlike the The art market
consists of more than
markets for other artworks (such as old masters or antiques), it is
actually two separate markets, locked together in a sometimes

just ‘sellers’
uneasy relationship. On the one hand is the primary market,
where fresh works are sold for the first time, and on the other, the
secondary market, where artworks are resold. Most contemporary
art market stakeholders – artists, gallerists, auction houses, art
dealers, collectors and museums, among others – therefore wear Since the primary end of the contemporary art market is by
a variety of hats, acting as sellers and/or buyers, depending on the nature opaque, market observers play a crucial role in advising
market in question. and informing both collectors and fellow professionals, either via
(online) information services or through journalistic channels.
“In today’s art world, critical consensus has less relevance in creating Initially, fresh artworks are offered on the primary market: They head a long list of influential voices that include art

a hierarchy of value. This is especially true in contemporary art where

private or corporate collectors, institutions, art dealers or academies, museums and exhibition spaces, art societies, donors/
museums buy “fresh” works – in most cases from galleries that sponsors/patrons, art consultants, curators, specialist art carriers,
we have a condition of pluralism – anything can be art – and where a collaborate with specific artists, or directly at the artist’s studio –
for a fixed (and usually undisclosed) price. Any such works that
art insurers and many others.

huge number of artists, galleries and collectors are participating.” are then resold appear on the secondary market, traditionally via In contrast to the primary market, prices on the secondary market
auction houses or art dealers, which commonly deal in works that develop more transparently via supply and demand, pretty much
have been sold once or several times before. as they do in any other mature market. This, therefore, need not
Art Expert detain us too long; it is the mysteries of the primary market that
concern us here.

Museums and
exhibition spaces

Donors, patrons, Art critics,

sponsors journalists,
bloggers

Primary market
• Artists

Market observers
Art • Galleries Information
societies providers

Sellers
Collectors

Buyers
Secondary market • Art dealers
• Collectors • Museums
• Art dealers
• Auction houses
• Art fairs
Art • Galleries Art
consultants academies

Curators Art carriers

Art insurers
The market for
contemporary art

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

The value of art: quality, reputation and price

For many art lovers and art market professionals, the familiarities There is, in fact, little in the way of solid ground here. Primary
of mainstream fine art represent something of a comfort zone. market value is largely a speculative construct, based on a
Any debate about quality and value has long been settled (both multitude of influences interacting within a complex system,
by expert opinion and market consensus), and the prudent without which it would be impossible to place a value on
investor can look forward over time to a steady, if not necessarily contemporary work at all.
spectacular, appreciation in value.
In the simplest terms, it comes down to a combination of aesthetic
Contemporary art isn’t like that. In whatever guise it takes – and judgment, artist profile and market asking price, all three of which
individual pieces differ enormously in form, content and quality – exercise their own competing – and sometimes conflicting - pull
its essence resides in the challenge of its originality. And if no piece on any notion of true value (see diagram).
bears comparison to any other, then every new work demands
individual appraisal. When a contemporary work is offered for sale
for the first time, list price is absolutely no guarantee of value –
either aesthetic or monetary. Aside from artistic quality, the work’s
size, medium and exhibition presence also come into play, as does “Although price should not be the ultimate measure of value,
the prevailing market environment and the current “buzz” around
the artist in question. it all to often assumes an inflated importance, due to interested
price/ quality/
parties having no other means of judging a work’s worth.”
Three core criteria: market value aesthetic value
Dealer
quality, reputation Value
and price
Quality/aesthetic value: Reputation is an organic creature, fed by a multi-tiered process of
Throughout the history of western art, we have fairly consistently social communication and a vast, complex network of direct and
held to the belief that the value of any piece is at heart determined indirect endorsements. Art prizes, awards and positive reviews all
by its aesthetic quality – a belief largely supported by the weight play a part, as does being in the right exhibitions, or collaborating
reputation/ of expert opinion delivered by curators, critics, art historians and with well-renowned institutions and collections. The artist’s
brand value the like. The volatility of the contemporary art scene actively brand, once established, becomes self-sustaining – it acts as a
supplants this established order with controversy and confusion, guideline for buyers and helps to increase the valuation of works,
with experts, museums, gallery owners and artists sometimes which in turn further increases the brand profile.
violently disagreeing as to what constitutes true artistic
achievement. Price/market value:
The combined effect of assorted buying processes and opaque
Evaluation criteria for contemporary art Aside from measurable aspects such as state of preservation, market structures has created an art market in which prices can
scarcity and provenance, every other element of judgment veer wildly between extremes. As often as not, the monetary
concerning quality and originality is invariably subjective, value ascribed to a work of art has as much to do with the buyer’s
and anything approaching a consensus takes years to evolve. expectations, market knowledge and personal taste as it does
So any foray into the market is inevitably something of a gamble. with the actual quality of the work or reputation of the artist.
As opposed to being swayed by impulse, the wisest heads take Quite commonly, the so-called Veblen-Effect comes into play:
stock of the collective balance of opinion before reaching for their as when a buyer of any extravagantly priced object is persuaded
chequebook. of its quality simply by virtue of how much they need to pay for it.
“Price and value are two completely different elements. Art historian Wolfgang Ullrich coined the term Siegerkunst –
Reputation/brand value:
The price of an artwork does not define its value.”
winner’s art – to describe such vanity purchases, acquired as
It may sound a little dispiriting but, as in any other avenue of ostentatious symbols of luxury and prestige.
the arts, a little public profile goes a long way. A contemporary
artist who has either cultivated a brand profile or whose work
Private Collector has earned a reputation will always command more market
attention than their more obscure counterpart. It’s simply that
public recognition – however acquired – serves as an indicator of
marketability and reduces the risk of a bad investment.

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

B. 1. News: information about artists and the art market

Information sources
Name online/offline Fee? Contents
Larry’s List Online: larryslist.com no** Database with 3,500 profiles of international collectors;
additional information for and about art collectors

ArtSy Online: artsy.net no Database with information on 40,000 artists, online art market

Evaluation tools for contemporary art: a practical guide

and news on art

Independent Online: independent- no Website for collectors of contemporary art; publishes the BMW
Collectors collectors.com Art Guide with portraits of ca. 250 private art collections

ArtTactic Online: arttactic.com no** Information service on the art market; publishes market and
country reports, individual analyses about specific artists etc.

The three valuation criteria for a contemporary artwork – Quality: A work of contemporary art is not like a new car or Artforum Magazine, yes* US contemporary art magazine, founded 1968,
quality, reputation and price – are intangible and subjective washing machine. It can’t be product tested, reviewed against online: artforum.com 10 issues per year
measurements that can change overnight. So how do experts competitors or benchmarked for quality. The multitude of factors
themselves arrive at their own judgments of quality? What involved in determining its value – many of which are subjective – ARTNews Magazine, yes* Leading US art magazine, first published 1922,
attributes or achievements distinguish a world-class artist from a render expert judgment and guidance all the more necessary. online: artnews.com 4 issues per year
middling exponent? How fast do new works appreciate – and is Here again, collectors and market professionals have recourse to
their market pricing appropriate at all? an array of online services and magazines, ranging from reviews Frieze Magazine, yes* British contemporary art monthly; organizes the Frieze art fairs
and art market news to lists of collectors and databases on artists, online: frieze.com in London and NY
There are no ready-made answers here. It is up to individuals to do works and collectors.
their own homework. In the ensuing hunt for clues, professional artpress Magazine, yes* French-English monthly on contemporary art;
evaluation tools – both online and printed – can provide essential Reputation: Artist rankings, some of which have existed for online: artpress.com first published in 1972
insight and guidance in the following areas: decades, are compiled from a multitude of data. An artist’s ranking
is assessed through a combination of scores across various Art Newspaper Newspaper, online: yes* Art newspaper, published 9 to 22 times a year in English, Italian,
1. Information: news and facts about the current art market categories – such as participation in important exhibitions, sales theartnewspaper.com French, Russian and Chinese
2. Reputation: rankings which measure the current standing of to important institutions, reviews in art magazines or art prizes
artists by scoring systems etc. How these rankings actually work is, however, something of Parkett Magazine, yes* English/German magazine on contemporary art; 4 issues per
3. Price: data banks with auction results and price hierarchies of a trade secret, as artist rankings do not disclose the algorithms online: parkettart.com year, edited in collaboration with artists
contemporary artists. behind their valuations (rare exceptions include Art Report and –
in part – Kunstkompass). art – Magazine, yes* Monthly German art magazine with portraits, exhibition reviews
das Kunstmagazin online: art-magazin.de and a guide on current art events
Price: Does the gallery asking price for a particular work of art
accurately reflect the final price paid? Primary market prices Monopol Magazine, yes* German bimonthly on contemporary art,
often remain undisclosed, and artists, collectors, museums online: kunstforum.de founded in 1968, 6 issues per year
and gallerists all have their own reasons for being reluctant to
reveal actual transaction figures. On the secondary market, in Kunstzeitung Newspaper no German monthly art newspaper, distributed free of charge in
contrast, information on prices is available: auction results, which museums and exhibition spaces, circulation 200,000
reflect supply and demand, are good indicators for the price
development of specific artists. Specialized data banks readily Kunst und Magazine, also yes* Magazine on the art and auction market, edited by the German
offer such information, often even including price curves and Auktionen available as e-paper monthly Die ZEIT; 20 issues per year
purchasing recommendations, in a similar way to stock market
information services.

The following table acts as a practical guideline for choosing This short survey represents only a limited selection of the Information, news and articles on the art market are also
sources of information on contemporary art; it lists exemplary many art magazines and websites devoted to contemporary art. published by the websites Art Report, ArtReview, Artnet and

The most important

evaluation tools which can offer the non-expert some much- The above information was carefully researched as of June 2017; Blouinartinfo (see 2. and 3. below).
needed guidance in estimating the quality, reputation and prices we assume no liability for changes or editorial errors.

evaluation tools: art

of contemporary artists.

news, artist rankings,

price databases * only magazine price / ** limited access free of charge

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

2. Reputation: rankings of contemporary artists 3. Price: databases and purchasing information

Name online/offline Fee? Contents Name online/offline Fee? Contents

ArtFacts Online: artfacts.net no** Online ranking of ca. 100,000 international artists, updated Artprice Online: artprice.com no** Database with ca. 30 million auction results and information
weekly; scores according to presence in museums, exhibitions on 650,000 artists; rankings of prices and sales volumes;
Capital-Kunstmarkt- Offline in the yes* and galleries; published yearly in the magazine Capital; with a various analytic tools available
kompass magazine Capital databank of auction prices
Artnet Online: artnet.com no** Database with ca. 10 million auction results and information on
Art Report Online: art-report.com no Online ranking of ca. 65,000 international artists; 320,000 artists; online art market, gallery representation and
scores depend on presence in exhibitions, network and auction auction house; art news
prices; data on individual artists available
Blouin Art Sales Index Online: art sales index. no** Database (founded in 1922) with ca. 6 million auction results of
ArtReview Online: artreview.com no Ranking of the 100 most influential personalities of the art artinfo.com 500,000 artists; ranking “100 Top Artists”; online art news:
Power 100 world (artists, gallerists, collectors, curators, museum directors, blouinartinfo.com
theorists etc.)
Sotheby’s- No public access (no) Database with 45,000 works sold on the secondary market
Kunstkompass Offline, published in the yes* First published in Germany in 1970; yearly ranking of Mei-Moses-Index several times; currently available only for Sotheby’s clients
magazine Bilanz international artists (about 25,000 artists are evaluated);
scores are allocated according to presence in exhibitions,
purchases by museums, reviews and art prizes Skate’s Art Market Online: no Information service on the art market, publishes industry
Research skatepress.com reports, sales data, artist rankings, lists of the most expensive
Trend- Magazine, yes* Ranking of the 100 best Austrian artists on the basis of a poll works etc.
Kunstranking online: trend.at among experts
ArtRank Online: no Quarterly artist ranking with tips for collectors (“buy now”,
Bilanz-Künstler- Magazine, yes* Ranking of the 20 most important Swiss artists, selected by a artrank.com “sell/peaking” etc.), depending on presence, prices and market
Rating online: kunstforum.de jury of 44 experts saturation

“The price represents the value a work has on the market. “If you don’t know the price, you don’t know
A very good artistic work can nevertheless be unsaleable what’s to pay or whether you can sell it.”
or commercially useless.”
Private Collector
Gallerist

* only magazine price / ** limited access free of charge

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

C. The participants: collectors, dealers, experts

Evaluation strategies:
six empirical results journalists/
academics
art societies
3% galleries and
art dealers
Demographically balanced: At 48% and 52% respectively,
men and women were almost equally represented. Ages varied
between 20 and 86 years, the average age being 47.
10% 40%
Diverse: Participants included a representative range of
stakeholders from across the art market – from art dealers,
institutional gallerists, auction houses, institutional and private collectors
art collectors to members of art societies, journalists and scholars and other
15% experts such as art consultants, art insurers and financial
consultants. The share of gallerists, art dealers and auction
houses (44%) was approximately equal to that of institutional and
The goal of the study private collectors (43%).

private art auction Willing and able to spend money on art: 59% of the art collectors
collectors houses interviewed had a yearly budget of 30,000 euros or more for
28% 4% buying art; 11% can budget for at least 600,000 euros, and 3% for
one million euros or more.

Given the complex structure of the contemporary art market, “value”? What role does price play? How does the evaluation

Art collectors and

several questions regarding the participants’ strategies for process (“art journey”) work in practice? Which evaluation tools Groups of interviewees
collecting information and evaluating art arise: Which sources do the experts prefer to use?

art dealers are equally

of information do they use? What is the underlying concept of
In 2017, a total of 127 carefully selected art market experts were

represented among
interviewed about their approaches to gathering art market
information in an explorative study. The results published here

the participants
were derived on the basis of that sample. The participants were:

International: Nearly two thirds of the interviewed experts came

from Germany and Austria, with the US, France, the UK and the
Netherlands also featuring prominently. In total, experts from 13
different countries took part in the survey.

“The price information reflects the economic value

of a work of art, not the ideal value. Both aspects can be relevant
to value appreciation independently.”
Private Collector

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

1. Pivotal source of information: the Internet 2. Key value criteria: reputation & quality

The first set of survey questions looked sat how participants go Some differences between the groups of experts were How do art experts evaluate artworks? Do they confine themselves • G
 allerists and art dealers regard an artist’s exhibition profile as
about acquiring information. The core question was: observable: solely to quality criteria, or are they swayed by reputation and a prime criterion, on a par with the originality of their work, and
noises from the market? To clarify this question, interviewees with the artist’s overall prominence ranking third. This group
“Which sources of information do you use to be up-to- • W
 omen and younger participants (under 53) use social media were asked to judge the relevance of 18 factors that potentially places less emphasis than collectors on an emotional bond,
date concerning the contemporary art scene?” more often than men and older participants. influence the value of an artwork. and above average importance on artist age and market criteria
(such as provenance, market-freshness and resale value).
Answering options ranged from print media such as art magazines • A
 rt dealers, gallerists, journalists and scholars visit artists’ Criteria which focus on artistic reputation and quality are
and newspapers to personal contacts (i.e., expert talks, visits to studios more often than collectors; auction houses are the rarest regarded as particularly important, with the artist’s prominence, • A
 uction houses unsurprisingly regard auction results as
exhibitions or artists’ studios and digital information sources of studio visitors. the emotional bond to the work, its originality and the artist’s particularly relevant. Additionally, they place above-average
such as websites or social media). We learned that (barring two exhibition profile commanding the top four scores. Price criteria importance on the value criterion of price/market value.
exceptions), experts use a cross-section of information sources • G
 allerists and art dealers use art magazines and discussions with such as market value and auction results occupy the middle
with similar degrees of frequency. experts significantly more often than collectors. range, with issues of up-to-dateness, epochal classification, artist

The Internet is clearly the most popular information source;

ranking and age trailing behind.
Core value criteria:
most participants (87%) use it often or daily. The interviewees
named artnet.de, artsy.net, monopol-magazin.de, artprice.com, The Internet is the most Unpack these figures though, and you find that the various expert
groups diverge considerably with respect to their judgment of the artist’s prominence,
art-magazin.de, e-flux.com and theartnewspaper.com as the
most important websites. In surprising contrast, experts will only common information value criteria:
emotional bond to the
occasionally visit an artist’s studio in pursuit of actual information.
Other named sources of information included books, radio source, studio visits are • I nstitutional and private art buyers and collectors attach
special importance to the originality of the artwork and to work and its originality
features, podcasts, data banks, newsletters (e.g. Hyperallergic),
conferences and visits to galleries, art fairs and auctions. the most uncommon establishing an emotional bond with the work. They put less
than average emphasis on “market-freshness”, provenance,
scarcity value and resale value of the artwork and on the age of
the artist.

Use of different information sources Value criteria and their relevance

very important rather important neutral
1 2 3

daily often occasionally Artist’s prominence 1,65

Emotional bond 1,70
Originality of the artwork 1,73
Art magazines
Artist’s exhibition profile 1,75
Statement of the artwork 1,99
Daily newspapers Provenance 2,05
Scarcity value 2,06
Expert talks Well-established artist’s name 2,06
Price/market value 2,11
Visiting exhibitions Technical realization 2,32
Achieved auction results 2,36
Visiting studios Resale value 2,44
“Market-fresh” artworks 2,56
Artist’s media presence 2,63
Websites
Up-to-dateness of the artwork 2,70
Epochal importance/classification 2,74
Social media
Artist’s position in rankings 2,97
Artist’s age 3,64

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

3. Buying decisions: a matter of quality

“Price is the easiest way to determine quality of art, but not the best.”
Art Dealer

Reassuringly, quality and reputation are still regarded as the most In general terms, the interviewees regard all three value criteria –
important evaluation criteria for contemporary art. More than reputation, quality and price – as important. Yet when it comes to
90% of interviewees rank reputation factors such as exhibition buying for themselves, they are often primarily led by their own
profile, prominence and a well-established artist’s name quality judgment and personal taste. 4. Price is not equal to value
alongside quality factors such as emotional bond, scarcity value
and originality in terms of relevance for determining value.

However, an interesting divergence from this result occurred

when the participants were asked an open question about their Reputation/artist Quality/artwork
own last art purchase: 18% 57%
Another question concerned price – we asked participants for a 2. Prices serve as a guideline
“When remembering the last time you bought a piece brief statement explaining the role that price information plays in Other participants see price only as a guideline –critically noting
of art: what were the three most important factors in the evaluation of an artwork. The results show that the price of an that non-experts tend to associate high prices with high quality
the decision-making process?” artwork can be interpreted in four quite different ways: (“important guideline for collectors who do not have a clue”;
“extremely important for many people – the more expensive,
In this case, the participants primarily state subjective quality the more prominent”). Revealingly, one participant turned

Prices are important,

aspects: 57% of interviewees regard the quality of the work as this critique on its head, observing that “things that don’t cost
important (“aesthetic quality”, “persuasiveness”, “authenticity”, Price/ anything aren’t worth anything – unfortunately!”.

but should not be

etc). Price and reputation aspects only rank second and third market value
(“good price”, “affordable”, “financially feasible” etc. are factors 25% 3. Prices create markets

interpreted as the
identified by 25% of interviewees). The reputation of the artist No price, no market – many experts agree on this point, variously
(“career strength”, “artist’s prominence”, “status of the artist” etc.) arguing that “the art market cannot exist without a reflection

value of artworks
returned only 18%. on prices”; “upon market entry, price is just a claim”; “price
information means that a market exists”.
Private and institutional collectors also regard the gallery as an Factors influencing buying decisions
important factor in any buying decision (“quality of the gallery”, 4. Prices are not related to value
“involvement of the gallerist”). 1. Prices are the basis for evaluation About one quarter of interviewees stress that the price of an
Only about 10% of participants, mainly art dealers, regard the artwork has no connection to its artistic value (“a very good work
price of an artwork as decisive in assessing its value. By and large, of art can still be unmarketable or commercially worthless”;

Real buying processes

this attitude is captured by such statements as “I trade in art, “the price does not say anything about the significance of the
therefore the price is essential”. contents”; “some contemporary art sells very well, but its artistic

are governed by
value often approaches zero”).

quality aspects
“The higher the demand, the higher the price – the price gives you the
information about how others estimate the work of art.”
Representative of Association for Art

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Evaluating Contemporary Art

5. “Art journeys”: individual trips in the dark 6. Evaluation tools: a way up into the light?

The process of evaluating artworks is both complex and individual. Buying behavior researchers divide this process Assessment of different evaluation tools
into three steps:
rather important neutral rather unimportant
2 3 4
Evaluation and purchasing process information search Artnet 2,01
Artprice 2,18
Information search Selection Evaluation Artsy 2,76
Artfacts 2,86
• Collection of raw data (auction • Judging price estimates • Judging the condition, provenance etc. Blouin 2,91
prices etc.) • Price comparisons of the artwork Art Report 2,93
•R esearch (provenance, artist’s career etc.) • Comparisons with other artworks • Personal information ArtReview Power 100 2,95
• Market analyses • Quality judgments Kunstkompass 3,00
ArtTactic 3,15
Mei Moses 3,15
In current buyer behavior research, such processes are called The answers reveal that the itineraries vary widely between groups Skate’s 3,19
“customer journeys” – it’s what we all do, every time we shop for and individuals (with private collectors setting considerable store Trend Kunstguide 3,25
that new car or washing machine. by the reputation of their favored galleries). Also, experts do Art Rank Index 3,29
not necessarily take a linear course, typically jumping back and
Correspondingly, art evaluation processes can be termed “art forth between the phases of information search, selection and
journeys”. The survey participants were asked to describe the evaluation. There is one common tendency, though: 58% regard
individual steps of their personal art journeys in detail: the gathering of price information as integral to the evaluation
process. “The price is the easiest way to determine quality, but not the best way.”
“What do you actually do when assessing or buying
an artwork?”
Art Market Journalist
Art journeys of different art experts (exemplary)

Does the work As seen on pages 10-13, many evaluation tools exist (mostly on • T
 he interviewees in general would prefer an evaluation tool with
Galleries and Artist from own Fits into Favorable Resale at a profit
complement the internet) to offer information on artworks plus guidance in a stronger emphasis on quality – of artworks, exhibitions and
art dealers gallery program? program? price? possible? valuation. Asked to assess their importance, the interviewees exhibiting museums.
the inventory?
rank Artnet and Artprice most highly. The groundbreaking
Kunstkompass ranking, founded in 1970, has declined in • G
 allerists would like to see more weight given to museums;
Auction Research Classify work Calculate sales
importance. collectors find reviews, awards and exhibition venues
auction according to price/market
houses prices its rank value particularly important.
Although most participants are aware of these evaluation tools,
Evaluation / buying decision

just 46% actually use them in their own assessments. In this • J ournalists and scholars wish for more emphasis on reviews
Private art Price Gallery collabo- respect, there is a marked difference between art collectors and and exhibition venues; interviewees from banks and financial
Education of Artist from own
C.V. of the artist Which gallery? comparisons in ration with public art dealers: consulting attach importance to resale values.
collectors the artist gallery program?
auction houses institutions

Collectors regard evaluation tools as more important, and use To sum up: Any evaluation tool that majors on the quality factor
Critical Importance/
Institutional art Ranking of the them more often (with the exception of the online service Artsy, has real market potential. But given the complexity of the quality
First personal reflection via Revision of first contribution to
work within the which is preferred by gallerists). 53% of all private and institutional issue, constructing such an art index will be a genuine challenge.
collectors impression discussions + impression current artistic
oeuvre as whole art collectors, but just 39% of gallerists and art dealers assess art When all is said, human intuition and the expertise of art
reading debate
with the aid of evaluation tools. connoisseurs might well remain the final authority on the value
Journalism / of art ...
Information Information Information on Reading
Price This rather cautious use may be due to ignorance of respective
on the artist on the gallery past exhibitions reviews

Most important
science of art valuation tools – or possibly to dissatisfaction, as any one tool
cannot hope to meet all the expectations of the “ideal” solution.

evaluation tools: Artnet

Given that different stakeholders hold conflicting priorities, each
Other experts Gather Get in touch Artist from own
Discover Observe Negotiate needs to select the tools that best meet the requirements of their

and Artprice
information with artist gallery program? individual „journey“:

These results suggest that given the opaque nature of the art market, art journeys resemble journeys in the dark.
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Evaluating Contemporary Art

D.
Summary The key results

A. The market for contemporary art 1. The Internet is the core source of information about 4. P
 rice is not equal to value. Only 10% of participants regard
contemporary art. 87% of interviewees use the Internet the price as the key value criterion for art; the others see it as
often or daily for information-gathering purposes. Print a guideline or a means for creating markets. One quarter of
• T he market for contemporary art is opaque and complex. It is divided into the primary market and the secondary market, media, exhibitions and talks are often used, studio visits only interviewees even believe that the price of an artwork bears no
where works are re-sold; multiple stakeholders act as sellers and/or buyers, market observers and influencers. occasionally, mainly by gallerists. relation whatsoever to its value.
• Art works are not homogeneous goods; their value must be determined individually and arises from three sources: quality/
aesthetic value, reputation of the artist/brand value and price/market value. 2. “ Artist’s prominence” and “emotional bond” to the artwork 5. Art journeys are individual trips “in the dark”. Evaluation and
are the most important factors for evaluating works of art. buying processes of contemporary art follow very individual
Reputation and quality criteria are regarded as significantly itineraries. By virtue of the market’s singular complexity and

B. Information sources more important than price/market value or auction results. An opacity, most market evaluation processes are shrouded in
artist’s age or ranking position is seen as secondary. secrecy.

To help guide non-experts through this confusing world, a multitude of market observers offer their services: 3. R
 eal buying processes are governed by quality. 57% of 6. Evaluation tools: a way up into the light? Various evaluation
• information services providing news from the art world, participants based their last art purchase on quality criteria. tools offer guidance for the assessment of art. The most
• rankings which measure the current reputation of artists via scoring systems Prices and reputation influenced only 25% and 18% of buyers popular ones are Artnet and Artprice – but in fact, fewer
• price data banks, which provide auction results and price information on works and artists. and collectors respectively – most follow their own sense of than half the interviewees use such information services.
quality and personal taste. One reason might be that the quality factor is not sufficiently
addressed by existing evaluation tools. Any evaluation tool that

C. Information and evaluation strategies: actually manages to incorporate artistic quality as a criteria
would look to have a highly successful future.

six key results

In order to shed some light on the best strategies to employ when negotiating the contemporary art market, we interviewed a selective
study of 127 art experts – drawn equally from dealership and collecting backgrounds – about their own information and evaluation
habits.

“Art prices can only be established on a comparative basis, because “For the personal art collector it is a matter of what value a work has,
the market lacks any concrete measuring tools.” since it might be possible to pass it on to others.”
Art Expert Private Collector

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AXA ART Survey 2017
Evaluating Contemporary Art

Epilog 1. “Hard” facts

Dr. Dietmar Stock-Nieden
about the artwork
Senior Art Expert / Claims AXA ART Switzerland •  ame of the artist
n
• title of the work
• method of production
• dimensions
• signature for runs: numbering or specifications
• dating
• dedications / inscriptions / labels etc
• conservation status
• provenance authenticity

Art appraisal: criteria between facts and indices

• exhibition history
• market history write-ups in reviews
• specialist literature

The survey highlighted the fact that participants wanted, among other things,
a stronger reflection of quality in art indices. Which raises the question:
is that even possible? 3. Relevance
Algorithms are fantastically good at compiling, sifting and quantitatively
2. Content
criteria
• t he significance of the work in the artist’s oeuvre
evaluating data, but they can’t begin to capture or assess the abstract • form and style as an expression of conscious
complexities of quality. And for all their numeric prowess, they offer no insight connection to – or calculated contrast from –
• s ubject / theme innate artistic issues, standards, periods or
into the iconographic and iconological layers of meaning which define an
• iconography / specifically in the cultural circles
artwork’s true relevance. This requires still a human eye. formulation of artistic statement • touching on some or many layers of meaning as an
• history of reception expression of the examination of “extra-artistic”
As a rule, art appraisal is carried out by “cascading”, using “hard” measurable • types and intentions of exhibitions issues
factors. These include the number and scale of mentions in literature and the • perception of the artist among the wider public
and in the art scene
press, the “content” of the work to be appraised (including analysis of the
content orientation of publications about the works and the artist),
and discussion of its relevance in terms of the history of ideas. Within these
three categories, the process of evaluation breaks down as follows:

As the above criteria show, an artwork’s classification in terms of Inevitably, the weighting of individual criteria can fluctuate,
price needs case-by-case analysis, which invariably extends into depending on the observer. But what matters most is that each
intangible fields of examination that cannot be reduced to a row is made as objective as possible, through the use of meaningful
of numbers. comparison and categorisation. In this respect, an algorithm-
based index can only do so much: data alone, however
Broadly speaking, the less formally measurable a criterion, the more illuminating, can never provide the full picture. This requires
it reveals about iconographical and iconological considerations. specialist expertise, with the contextual background knowledge
But a specialist needs to consider the entire spectrum to arrive at to consider every individual case separately.
a rounded view of a work’s likely attractiveness on the current art
market.

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AXA ART Survey 2017
Evaluating Contemporary Art

“The art market cannot exist without consideration of price.

Sometimes value can appear incomprehensible for something
that might be intrinsically worthless”
Gallerist

“Prices are for orientation, not for appreciation.”

Dealer

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