Christie’s Global Sales Reach $8.4B in 2022

Highest Annual Sales Total in Art Market History

Christie’s:

Guillaume Cerutti, Chief Executive Officer, Christie’s:

“In 2022, despite a challenging macro-environment, Christie’s has achieved our highest ever global sales. Three factors explain this performance: the resilience of the art and luxury markets, the remarkable success of several major art collections— including the unforgettable Paul Allen sale— and the expertise and hard work of our teams around the world.”

Key 2022 Takeaways

1. Christie’s expert global team delivers highest annual total in art market history $8.4B (+17% in USD) / £7B (+34% in GBP) / HK$68.1B (+22% in HK$)
2. Paul G. Allen’s landmark sale achieved $1.62B to become the most valuable collection sale of all time, 5 works sold above $100M, thousands of visitors to worldwide tour, 4M online viewers
3. The most valuable 20^th Century artwork was sold by Christie’s in 2022: Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn for $195M – the second highest price ever achieved for an artwork at auction
4. Christie’s sold 8 of the top ten works at auction in 2022
5. Christie’s sold the top 3 Collections of 2022, Allen ($1.62B), Ammann ($359.2M), Bass ($363.1M) as well as the top collection sold this year outside of the US, Hubert de Givenchy Collectionneur (€118.1M) in Paris
6. Superior sell-through rate of 85% for all lots at auction, affirms strong performance for Christie’s clients
7. Business and competition driven by new generation of collectors: 35% of all buyers in 2022 are new to Christie’s, and 34% of these new buyers are millennials (up from 31% in 2021); APAC has fastest growing base of new collectors
8. Launch of Christie’s Ventures – new investment fund to support early-stage Web 3.0, Technology and FinTech companies with direct relevance to Christie’s art and luxury goods business
9. Private Sales remain at a high level, exceeding the $1.2B (£1B) mark, the 3^rd highest consecutive total ever for the platform and up 49% since pre-pandemic levels in 2019

FULL-YEAR RESULTS DETAILED HIGHLIGHTS

GLOBAL DEMAND

There has been a growth in spend at auction from all three buyer regions, matched by an increase in ‘out of market’ bought value. Americas buyers contributed 40% of the total value of global auction sales, EMEA buyers 34% and APAC 26%. Bought value has grown from each of the 3 regional buyer bases; Americas buyers spend is up +55%, EMEA buyer spend up +31% and APAC buyer spend up +10%.

CLIENT ENGAGEMENT AND RETURN

Christie’s continues to achieve the strongest results for its clients with total sales of 117% against the low estimate, across all sold lots. As in 2021, 35% of all buyers in 2022 were new to Christie’s, with 65% entering via online sales and millennials accounting for 34% of all new buyers (up from 31% in 2021). In APAC new buyers increased by 9% attracted by sales of Asian and World Art and most significantly in Luxury (+23%).

PRIVATE SALES SUSTAIN POST-PANDEMIC GROWTH

Following a record year in 2021, Private Sales totaled $1.211B / £1.017B in 2022, the 3rd highest consecutive total ever and up 49% since pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

WEB 3.0, CHRISTIE’S VENTURES AND NFT SALES EXPAND AUDIENCES AND COLLECTING CATEGORIES

Christie's Ventures launched in July, a new investment fund supporting the three pillars of this business sector – Web 3.0, FinTech and hardware or software that facilitates the engagement with of art. Initial investments included LayerZero, Manifold.xyz, and ProtoHologram, coupled with collaborations to use these companies’ tech tools to aid clients in buying and selling. Outside the virtual world, the fifth iteration of the Christie’s Art and Tech Summit was held in July in New York, convening industry-leading talent across fields, with the next edition just announced to appear during Art Dubai. Christie’s sold 87 NFT lots this year across all platforms for a total of $5.9M from artists such as Diana Sinclair, Mad Dog Jones and Fewocious.

THE HOUSE OF REFERENCE FOR THE WORLD’S BEST COLLECTIONS

Christie’s sold the top three private single-owner collections at auction in 2022:

• Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection ($1.62B), 100% sold, achieved the highest total in auction history, with 155 masterpieces spanning 500 years of art history, and 5 works sold above $100M;
• The Collection of Anne H. Bass ($363.1M), led by the sale of Claude Monet’s Le Parlement, soleil couchant ($76M);
• The Collection of Thomas and Doris Ammann ($359.2M), led by the most expensive 20^th Century artwork sold at auction in 2022, Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn ($195M)

LUXURY RECRUITS NEW BUYERS AND DRIVES BUSINESS

Global Luxury auction sales: $779M / £655M (+7% USD / +23% in GBP vs. 2021)

Luxury sales (Jewels, Watches, Wine, Bags and accessories) are the major point of entry for newcomers to Christie’s auctions. Global demand for Luxury continues to drive Christie’s online platform, constituting more than half of all lots offered online, a notable shift that began during the pandemic. The average sold price for a Luxury item (excluding wine sales) online in 2022 was $24.5K (vs. $21.4K in 2021), an indication of the confidence of both new and existing clients to bid and buy from christies.com.

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