Industry data

The UK has retained second place ahead of China in sales of art and antiques, according to the latest Art Basel and UBS global art market report 2020.

A survey has been launched to ask collectors about their habits and how they work with museums.

Auction sales at the top of the sector have slowed in the first half of this year.

The Newbattle Abbey Kunstkammer is the latest work of art to be granted an export licence this year, despite the arts minister’s attempts to retain them for the nation.

Leaders of trade associations BADA and LAPADA have welcomed an announcement that antiques contributed to a recent rise in UK retail.

Auction firms in France have been releasing their ‘Bilans’ or sales figures for the first half of 2019.

More dealers than ever are flocking to fairs, according to the recent Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD) members survey.

The global online art market recorded sales up 9.8% to $4.64bn (£3.5bn) in 2018, according to the seventh annual Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2019.

Sixty-four percent of Chinese art collectors bought Western European modern and contemporary art in the past five years according to a survey conducted for the TEFAF Art Market Report which was presented at the fair as the doors opened for the second preview day.

Sotheby’s held its very first auction on March 11, 1744, and today it is celebrating this 275-year milestone with the opening of an exhibition detailing its history in pictures.

The UK’s art market reclaimed its second position in the global league table as China’s rapid growth slowed during 2018.