thierry Ehrmann, Artprice's founder/CEO, highlights the art market's excellent performance in H1 2019: "A collector who, at the start of this year, invested in the 100 most successful artists of the last five years (2014-2018), would already be looking at a value accretion of almost a sixth in the value of his/her portfolio." The Artprice100 (C) index gained +16% over the first half of 2019 while the S&P 500 added +18% over the same period. The similarity in the performances between the American financial markets and a portfolio of works by the world's top performing artists (defined in a purely objective manner) proves the undeniable attractiveness of the Art Market as an alternative investment. Fewer transactions The performance of the Artprice100(C) over the first half of 2019 was driven by exceptionally strong demand, barely satisfied by supply. The supply/demand imbalance, generated a rapid increase in value, particularly on works by the 100 top performing artists on the global secondary art market. The turnover slowdown recorded in H1 2019 by major auction houses, including Sotheby's (-9%) and Christie's (-28%), reflects a less dynamic high-end market than in previous years. However, prices have shown no signs of fatigue and the contraction in the volume of sales is a reminder that the art market is directly dependent on the number of works in circulation. In a financial context of sustained negative or near-zero refinancing rates, some collectors are probably preferring to hold certain artworks and not cash in on investments that remain highly competitive. Moreover, the persistence of extremely high transaction costs, both in galleries and in auction rooms, is discouraging short holding periods (under five years), and tempting some collectors to consider private transactions as an alternative. The Artprice100(C) index driven by Warhol, Zao Wou-Ki and Wu Guanzhong Heavily weighted in our Artprice100(C) index with 9.1% of the portfolio, Pablo Picasso has not contributed to its value accretion for several years. As we have seen over the last four years, his prices contracted -2% in the first half of 2019. However, Andy Warhol, Fu Baoshi, Zao Wou-Ki and particularly Wu Guanzhong have all clearly enjoyed value accretion, providing the main thrust for the progression of our Artprice100(C) index in H1 2019. Without setting any new auction records, these artists have all enjoyed strong price inflation. The sale of major works by these artists will no doubt confirm the trend. On 2 June last, a large drawing by Wu Guanzhong entitled Lion grove garden (1988) fetched $20.8 million at China Guardian. It was previously acquired for $17.8 million on 3 June 2011 at Poly Beijing. Adding 17% over the last eight years, the drawing generated, in financial terms, an average annual return of +1.9%. However, another Guanzhong resale suggests that the bulk of the value accretion on his works has occurred in the last 6 months: an important Guanzhong work entitled Two Swallows was purchased for $7.1 million on 3 June 2011 (at the same sale as Lion grove garden) and fetched $7.8 million in December 2018, an increase of just +9.8%. Paul Cezanne and George Condo Investments in Modern artists carry the least risk and demand for their work is continuing to grow steadily offering attractive returns over the long term. Claude Monet and Paul Signac have both signed new auction records this year. Similarly, 2019 is already proving to be a superb year (the best since 2000) for Paul Cezanne. His painting Bouilloire et fruits (c. 1888-90), acquired for $29.5 million in 1999, fetched $59.3 million on 13 May 2019 at Christie's New York, generating an average annual ROI of 3.6% over 20 years. At the other end of the spectrum, Contemporary artists offer striking returns in the medium and short term. The most spectacular entry into the composition of the Artprice100(C) index this year is undoubtedly George Condo. The American artist enjoyed a massive secondary market success in 2018with 78 paintings and 34 drawings selling for more than $63 million, and on three continents (America, Europe and Asia)! The Condo phenomenon has been clearly illustrated by a number of rapid resales of small works including Soft Green Abstraction (1983), which was purchased for $17,000 in April 2017 in Munich and resold a year later in New York for $46,000. In total, there were seven changes this year in the composition of the Artprice 100(C) index. In Out George Condo Huang Binhong Giorgio Morandi Huang Zhou Robert Motherwell Anish Kapoor Jean Paul Riopelle Li Keran Rufino Tamayo Xu Beihong Frank Auerbach Pieter Brueghel II Hans Arp Giorgio de Chirico Four women... and two Old Masters Unfortunately, we see no change regarding female artists. This year again, only four of the artists in the Artprice100© are women: Yayoi Kusama (Japan), Joan Mitchell (US), Louise Bourgeois (France) and Barbara Hepworth (UK). Yayoi Kusama now represents 1.3% of the index compared with 0.9% last year. Her price index rose 20% in H1 2019. The relegation of Pieter Brueghel II for reasons relating to market liquidity has exacerbated the rarity of Old Masters in the index. Numerically, the composition of the index is dominated by Modern artists, numbering 49, followed by Post-War artists (29), Contemporary artists (12), 19th century artists (8) and lastly... Old Masters (only 2). Composition of Artprice100(C) index for H1 2019 Artist - Share - Period 1. Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) - 9.1% - Modern 2. Andy WARHOL (1928-1987) - 6.4% - Post-War 3. Claude MONET (1840-1926) - 4.5% - 19th Century 4. QI Baishi (1864-1957) - 3.9% - Modern 5. Jean-Michel BASQUIAT (1960-1988) - 3.7% - Contemporary 6. Gerhard RICHTER (b. 1932) - 3.3% - Post-War 7. ZAO Wou-Ki (1921-2013) - 2.9% - Post-War 8. FU Baoshi (1904-1965) - 2.5% - Modern 9. Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966) - 2.4% - Modern 10. Amedeo MODIGLIANI (1884-1920) - 2.2% - Modern 11. Cy TWOMBLY (1928-2011) - 2.2% - Post-War 12. WU Guanzhong (1919-2010) - 2.1% - Modern 13. Roy LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997) - 2.0% - Post-War 14. Lucio FONTANA (1899-1968) - 1.9% - Modern 15. Alexander CALDER (1898-1976) - 1.8% - Modern 16. Marc CHAGALL (1887-1985) - 1.8% - Modern 17. Joan MIRO (1893-1983) - 1.7% - Modern 18. Willem DE KOONING (1904-1997) - 1.7% - Modern 19. Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) - 1.5% - Modern 20. Fernand LEGER (1881-1955) - 1.4% - Modern 21. Christopher WOOL (b. 1955) 1.4% - Contemporary 22. Yayoi KUSAMA (b. 1929) - 1.3% - Post-War 23. Jean DUBUFFET (1901-1985) - 1.3% - Modern 24. René MAGRITTE (1898-1967) - 1.2% - Modern 25. Peter DOIG (b. 1959) - 1.2% - Contemporary 26. Wassily KANDINSKY (1866-1944) - 1.2% - Modern 27. Jeff KOONS (b. 1955) - 1.2% - Contemporary 28. David HOCKNEY (b. 1937) - 1.1% - Post-War 29. Henry MOORE (1898-1986) - 1.0% - Modern 30. LIN Fengmian (1900-1991) - 0.9% - Modern 31. CHU Teh-Chun (1920-2014) - 0.9% - Post-War 32. Paul GAUGUIN (1848-1903) - 0.9% - 19th Century 33. Pierre-Auguste RENOIR (1841-1919) - 0.8% - 19th Century 34. SAN Yu (1895-1966) - 0.8% - Modern 35. Richard PRINCE (b. 1949) - 0.8% - Contemporary 36. Sigmar POLKE (1941-2010) - 0.7% - Post-War 37. Joan MITCHELL (1926-1992) - 0.7% - Post-War 38. PU Ru (1896-1963) - 0.7% - Modern 39. Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) - 0.7% - 19th Century 40. Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917) - 0.7% - 19th Century 41. Paul CEZANNE (1839-1906) - 0.7% - 19th Century 42. Yves KLEIN (1928-1962) - 0.6% - Post-War 43. Camille PISSARRO (1830-1903) - 0.6% - 19th Century 44. Richard DIEBENKORN (1922-1993) - 0.6% - Post-War 45. Ed RUSCHA (b. 1937) - 0.6% - Post-War 46. Keith HARING (1958-1990) - 0.5% - Contemporary 47. Martin KIPPENBERGER (1953-1997) - 0.5% - Contemporary 48. Louise BOURGEOIS (1911-2010) - 0.5% - Modern 49. Alberto BURRI (1915-1995) - 0.5% - Modern 50. Frank STELLA (b. 1936) - 0.5% - Post-War 51. Damien HIRST (b. 1965) - 0.4% - Contemporary 52. Egon SCHIELE (1890-1918) - 0.4% - Modern 53. Ernst Ludwig KIRCHNER (1880-1938) - 0.4% - Modern 54. Georges BRAQUE (1882-1963) - 0.4% - Modern 55. Georg BASELITZ (b. 1938) - 0.4% - Post-War 56. Pierre SOULAGES (b. 1919) - 0.4% - Modern 57. Juan GRIS (1887-1927) - 0.4% - Modern 58. Salvador DALI (1904-1989) - 0.4% - Modern 59. Edvard MUNCH (1863-1944) - 0.4% - Modern 60. Paul SIGNAC (1863-1935) - 0.4% - Modern 61. DONG Qichang (1555-1636) - 0.4% - Old Master 62. Fernando BOTERO (b. 1932) - 0.4% - Post-War 63. WEN Zhengming (1470-1559) - 0.4% - Old Master 64. George CONDO (b. 1957) - 0.4% - Contemporary 65. Sam FRANCIS (1923-1994) - 0.4% - Post-War 66. Alighiero BOETTI (1940-1994) - 0.4% - Post-War 67. Bernard BUFFET (1928-1999) - 0.4% - Post-War 68. Max ERNST (1891-1976) - 0.4% - Modern 69. Robert RAUSCHENBERG (1925-2008) - 0.4% - Post-War 70. CHEN Yifei (1946-2005) - 0.3% - Contemporary 71. Maurice DE VLAMINCK (1876-1958) - 0.3% - Modern 72. Barbara HEPWORTH (1903-1975) - 0.3% - Modern 73. Pierre BONNARD (1867-1947) - 0.3% - Modern 74. Donald JUDD (1928-1994) - 0.3% - Post-War 75. Max BECKMANN (1884-1950) - 0.3% - Modern 76. Tsuguharu FOUJITA (1886-1968) - 0.3% - Modern 77. Alfred SISLEY (1839-1899) - 0.3% - 19th Century 78. Laurence Stephen LOWRY (1887-1976) - 0.3% - Modern 79. Morton Wayne THIEBAUD (b. 1920) - 0.3% - Post-War 80. Nicolas de STAEL (1914-1955) - 0.3% - Modern 81. Enrico CASTELLANI (1930-2017) - 0.3% - Post-War 82. Anselm KIEFER (b. 1945) - 0.3% - Contemporary 83. Michelangelo PISTOLETTO (b. 1933) - 0.3% - Post-War 84. GUAN Liang (1900-1986) - 0.3% - Modern 85. Kees VAN DONGEN (1877-1968) - 0.3% - Modern 86. Francis PICABIA (1879-1953) - 0.3% - Modern 87. Piero MANZONI (1933-1963) - 0.3% - Post-War 88. Tom WESSELMANN (1931-2004) - 0.3% - Post-War 89. Giorgio MORANDI (1890-1964) - 0.3% - Modern 90. Gunther UECKER (b. 1930) - 0.2% - Post-War 91. Josef ALBERS (1888-1976) - 0.2% - Modern 92. Robert MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) - 0.2% - Modern 93. Rufino TAMAYO (1899-1991) - 0.2% - Modern 94. Hans ARP (1886-1966) - 0.2% - Modern 95. Emil NOLDE (1867-1956) - 0.2% - Modern 96. Paul KLEE (1879-1940) - 0.2% - Modern 97. Jean-Paul RIOPELLE (1923-2002) - 0.2% - Post-War 98. Alexej VON JAWLENSKY (1864-1941) - 0.2% - Modern 99. Albert OEHLEN (b. 1954) - 0.2% - Contemporary 100. Frank AUERBACH (b. 1931) - 0.2% - Post-War Copyright (C)2019 thierry Ehrmann – www.artprice.com – www.artmarket.com About Artprice: Artprice is listed on the Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and Euroclear: 7478 - Bloomberg: PRC - Reuters: ARTF. Founded by thierry Ehrmann (see Who's who certified Biography ) (c) https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2019/03/2019-bio-whoswho-thierry-ehrmann.pdf). Dicover Artprice in video: https://www.artprice.com/video Artprice is the global leader in art price and art index databanks. It has over 30 million indices and auction results covering more than 700,000 artists. Artprice Images(R) gives unlimited access to the largest Art Market resource in the world: a library of 126 million images or prints of artworks from the year 1700 to the present day, along with comments by Artprice's art historians. Artprice permanently enriches its databanks with information from 6,300 auctioneers and it publishes a constant flow of art market trends for the world's principal news agencies and approximately 7,200 international press publications. For its 4,500,000 members, Artprice gives access to the world's leading Standardised Marketplace for buying and selling art. Artprice is preparing its blockchain for the Art Market. It is BPI-labelled (scientific national French label) Artprice's Global Art Market Annual Report for 2018 published last March 2019: https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2018 Artprice is associated with Artron Group the Chinese leader in the Art Market, its solid institutional partner. About the Artron Group: Partners since 2009, in 2018, Artron and Artprice signed a historic agreement to create a "New Silk Road for Art". This initiative is perfectly coherent with China's "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR) or "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) launched in 2013 and known in Europe as the "New Silk Road". "Artron Art Group (Artron), a comprehensive cultural industrial group founded in 1993 by Wan jie, is committed to inheriting, enhancing and spreading art value. Based on abundant art data, Artron provides art industry and art fans with professional service and experience of quality products by integrated application of IT, advanced digital science and innovative crafts and materials. Having produced more than 60,000 books and auction catalogues, Artron is the world's largest art book printer with a total print volume of 300 million a year. It has more than 3 million professional members in the arts sector and an average of 15 million daily visits, making it the world's leading art website." 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