The international art market had a near-record year last year, with just under $66 billion in sales worldwide, Bloomberg reports, an 8% increase from last year.  This includes an 11% increase in contemporary art, bolstered by monumental sales for works by Warhol, Koons and Bacon at the end of last year. (more…)

Artnet’s Katherine Markley is reporting on the continued growth of the art market for contemporary female artists, focusing in particular on the work of Yayoi Kusama.  Analyzing sales figures for the last several years, Markley points out that Kusama has vastly exceeded the current sales figures for both Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons since 2007, and reframes the question of female artists’ presence in terms of comparison to direct market competitors, in favor of the 100 highest selling works list often cited in news articles and auction reports. (more…)