Market reports and indices

What are art market reports and indices?

Reports are regular overviews summarising how the art market is doing, who is buying and what trends are emerging. Indices track the development of the value of art over time, much as stock market indicators track share prices. Together they help you form a picture without having to be present at every auction.

Where does this data come from, and which sources are key?

The best overall picture of the market comes from the annual UBS & Art Basel report, to which it is worth adding Hiscox and ArtTactic for tracking trends, and Art+ for the Czech context. The development of works' value is captured by indices such as Artprice 100 and Sotheby's Mei Moses. One important rule: always name the source, because a number without a context leads nowhere.

What is the difference between a report and an index?

A report is more of a narrative about the market — a broader overview of trends, moods and collector behaviour over a given period. An index, by contrast, is a single figure or curve showing how the value of selected works changes over time. Put simply: a report explains what is happening, while an index shows where prices are moving.

Why do reports and indices matter?

The art market is relatively opaque, because many transactions take place discreetly and prices are not always public. Reports and indices bring at least some orientation to it, so that collectors and galleries can make decisions with some grounding in data. Without them one would be estimating value off the cuff, which on the art market is a risky business.

Can you give an example?

When you want to know how the market did over the past year, you reach for the annual UBS & Art Basel report, which tends to be the springboard for most discussions. If you are interested in the long-term development of value, you might look at the Artprice 100 index. And for a view of Czech conditions there is Art+, which maps the domestic scene.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club