Yayoi Kusama has earned the hyperbolic title of the “world’s most popular artist” following the release of Art Newspaper’s annual survey.  “Kusama is the only one of our artists who sells on every continent.  “She’s very rare in that she has this kind of credibility within the art world establishment, but she also has a very broad popular appeal,” says Glenn Scott Wright, co-director of Victoria Miro. (more…)

The annual figures by Artprice have placed 2014 as another record year in the art market, with $15.2 billion in works sold at auction in the past year, including a record 1,679 sales worth $1 million or more.  “More museums were created between 2000 and 2005 than during the entire 19th and 20th centuries,” says Wang Jie, president of Artprice.com and Artron group.  “A museum needs a minimum of 3,000 to 4,000 quality works to be credible… (and) is not meant to get rid of its acquisitions.” (more…)

Global art sales topped $16 Billion in 2014, according to the new figures released this week by Artnet, with Andy Warhol at the top of the list of top-selling artists for his $653.2 million in sales.  “The headline number is not so much a comment on the art market as it is on global wealth,” says Jeff Rabin of advisory firm Artvest Partners. “We haven’t seen a considerable increase in the number of objects sold. We have seen price appreciation at the top end.” (more…)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dustheads (1982), via Christie’s

This week, Sotheby’s and Christie’s released their sales reports for the first half of 2013, with both sides announcing record sales figures. Christie’s has achieved a global sales total of £2.4 billion, including buyers’ premiums, a 9% increase on last year’s figure. The total includes the private sales of £465.2 million, an increasingly popular segment of the sales market, which saw a 13% growth from last year. The report also marks the third year in a row that the auction house has set new records for the period in both company and art market history.

Pablo Picasso, Étreinte (1971), via Sotheby’s

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