Richard Dorment, the head arts critic at The Telegraph who is retiring after serving at the position for over 30 years, has an article in the newspaper this week, reviewing the changes in contemporary art since he began writing, and his thoughts on writers unwilling to accept the new in the world of art. “Had the same critics been writing about film, sport, or the stock market they’d have been rumbled in a week,” he notes. (more…)

The Art Newspaper recaps the previous year of art auctions, citing Christie’s auction total at $6.8 billion, maintaining at $800 million lead over Sotheby’s, which wrapped the year with a $6 billion tally, both of which are records for the auction houses.  However, the article also notes that Christie’s is likely to appear much further ahead when the figures for private sales are announced for both houses.  “We’ve doubled our eCommerce sales, nearly 20% of our business was private sales. We are not an auction house anymore,” says Christie’s President Jussi Pylkkänen. (more…)

Writer Georgina Adams takes another look at the thriving auction market in The Financial Times this week, and questions just how long the currently astronomical prices at auction for contemporary works can sustain themselves.  Adams, the author of Big Bucks – The Explosion of the Art Market in the 21st Century, offers a cohesive study of the current state of the market, from the art fair explosion to the influence of powerful new international economies, not to mention the role of the new independent curator.  “Their influence on what is good art today has to an extent replaced the artistic agenda once set by museums and art critics,” she writes.

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Christie’s has announced its final sales figures for 2013, and the auction house is claiming a world record for sales during 2013, with a $7.13 billion final tally.  The final total is a 14% increase on last year’s numbers, and sees a $5.9 billion of the sales coming from auctions, beating out competitor Sotheby’s, which achieved a sales total of $5.1 billion at auction.  The auction house also boasted considerable increases in sales for each region worldwide. (more…)

Writer Melanie Gerlis summarizes her book Art as an Investment? in the Financial Times this week, which reports on the current interest in the art market by major banking and investment firms, and questions the assurances of its value and use in the market.  While often compared favorably to other assets, analysis shows that it is not quite as ideal of a market as some would attest.  She writes: “Equating a popular asset with a profitable asset is misleading. From an investment point of view, art seems to be a very fragile prospect.” (more…)