Art market
Arun Kakar
Half a century after his death, Pablo Picasso retains a central role in the world of art today. This year, a series of museum exhibitions, gallery shows and documentary series have marked the 50th anniversary of his death with reassessments—and the occasional reassessment—of the artist’s legacy and influence.
Considered by many to be the greatest artist of the 20th century, few names make such a mark in contemporary art. Although the anniversary of his death has prompted a thorough re-examination of the artist’s personal life (especially his relationships with women), this conversation has done nothing to dampen interest in his work.
“The magic of Picasso’s legacy is not just the fundamental impact he had on artists throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. It is his impact on the history of art and on the way we see the world today,” said Isabelle de La Bruyère, CEO of the Opera Gallery, which, through its branches in 16 locations around the world, has widely covered the works of artist
As artistic trends and tastes have evolved and changed, interest in Picasso remains as robust and ubiquitous as ever. As Jay-Z rapped in 2013, “I just want a Picasso in my house,” conveying an attitude that rings as true today as it did a decade ago. In fact, this sentiment is even more deeply rooted: for almost as long as he was a prominent artist, Picasso was coveted by collectors and the art market. “Commercially he became the most expensive painter alive and aesthetically he remained the most influential,” reads one New Yorker article from 1939, in which an anonymous dealer tells the magazine: “I buy Picasso now not because I like him, but because one day he will be worth a lot.”
That anonymous dealer was right: Picasso’s position in the 21st century art market is unique. Historically, five works by the artist have fetched more than $100 million at auction, more than any other artist. Meanwhile, Picasso’s genius is extraordinarily prolific: the artist is estimated to have produced some 50,000 works of art, including prints, ceramics, works on paper, sculptures and, of course, paintings.
“Picasso’s work continues to be exciting and, because he was so prolific, there is always more to learn and discover, which is so fascinating. It allows for further research, which only helps to chronicle the many artistic stages he went through in his long life,” said Paul Stolper, whose London gallery of the same name is staging “A Painter’s Studio Should Be A Laboratory,” a selection of drawings collages, cutouts and ceramics by Picasso spanning from 1907 to 1958, on view until February 3, 2024. “With this continued interest it makes living with a Picasso on your wall a real conversation piece that continues to be relevant even 50 years after he died.”
This convenience results in amazing sales figures. Take the top of the Picasso market. In November, Woman with watch (1932) became the most expensive work sold under the hammer this year, fetching $139.3 million at Sotheby’s. This price may represent a high peak, but further research with the Artsy price database shows that even the 100th most expensive Picasso work sold at auction this year fetched a high price of $174,585. This year, in fact, some 672 works were sold by Picasso at auction for a combined amount of $556.3 million.
But the last few years under the hammer for the artist have marked a consistent decline in the number of lots. This follows from previous years’ data for his market: in 2022, 1,199 works by the artist were sold for a combined amount of $492.8 million; in 2021, 1,359 works were sold for $645.67 million; and in the year before the 2019 pandemic, 1,722 works were sold for $333 million. Going back even further to 2015, the year Picasso set a new auction record (for The Women of Algiers (Version ‘O’)1955, which sold for $179.4 million), 2,924 works by the artist were sold at auction houses for a staggering combined price of $705.1 million.
This tells us two things: Picasso inventory is becoming more limited in the auction world, and buying a Picasso work under the hammer is more expensive than it used to be. The average price of a work at auction is higher ($13,970 in 2023, compared to $9,569 in that milestone year of 2015). One reason for this is that collectors who buy works by the artist clearly do not like to let them go.
“While he probably remains the artist with the most transactions, with the rise of new high-net-worth collectors in the market, museums and private foundations flourishing globally, Picasso’s works are entering collections and not leaving,” said de La Bruyere. “As such, there is more demand than the existing limited supply for strong works by the sought-after artist, so prices go up.”
Pablo Picasso, woman with watch, 1932. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
An increase in demand is also occurring in the context of greater diversity in Picasso collectors. In 2022, Christie’s saw a remarkable 34% increase in the number of millennials buying and bidding on Picasso works compared to 2019. The auction houses also saw a wider geographic spread, with 50% of buyers and bidders from the Americas, a 40% from EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), and 10% from APAC (Asia and Pacific).
“The continued evolution of its market is something to be celebrated and reflects a mix of experienced collectors and a growing influx of new enthusiasts,” said Michelle McMullan, co-head of Christie’s 20th and 21st Century Evening Sale. “The Picasso market remains strong. Buyers are actively participating in the Picasso market at all levels.”
In the gallery world, meanwhile, there have been some 22 Picasso solo shows this year, and that’s just for the shows featured in Artsy. Several of the gallerists Artsy spoke with noted that they, too, have noticed a younger collector base taking an interest in the artist.
“His works continue to speak to new generations of collectors,” said Raphel Petrov of Frankfurt’s Galerie Raphael, which staged a six-decade retrospective of the artist’s prints and works on paper that then traveled to Deodato Arte in Milan and recounted ” many things.” ” from early buyers. “He is very different from some of his contemporaries [such as] [Henri] matisse, [Georges] Braque, and [Marc] Chagall, which seem to speak more only to an older generation,” he added.
According to a representative of New York’s Findlay Galleries, there is also a stylistic resonance to be found between the tastes of younger collectors and Picasso.
“The current generation of new collectors has a great interest in works that are in the representational, figurative and narrative categories. Picasso’s work is firmly seated within those parameters,” the gallery representative told Artsy.
So where do new collectors start? Findlay, which has represented works by the artist for decades, earlier this year held a show of Picasso ceramics, a medium often seen as an ideal entry point for younger collectors. “While they may be considered similar to multiples, each piece in a given edition will be slightly different,” the rep said. “For this reason, even in the same edition, some works have a significantly higher quality than others. This gives budding collectors the opportunity to polish their curating and collecting skills, identifying subtle differences in pieces and looking for markers of quality.
“From Picasso ceramics to works on paper and prints, the diversity of demand reflects a healthy and vibrant ecosystem where collectors, both experienced and new, continue to contribute to the enduring popularity and strength of the Picasso market,” agreed Christie’s McMullan .
Fifty years after Picasso’s death, there is no sign of the artist changing from his position at the top of the art market. In addition to providing a critical interpretation of Picasso’s legacy, this year has only served to reinforce his relevance today, especially among collectors.
Arun Kakar
Arun Kakar is the editor of Artsy’s art marketplace.
