The fine-arts industry, with its mixed bag of posterity and austerity, has not been immune to the spread of Covid-19. Artists, art collecting, auctions, galleries, and museums have been so severely affected that things might never go back to how they once were.
There are disadvantages to such online commerce. For one, many artworks fail to sell successfully online. It is mostly artworks at the top end of the market, representing well-established artists, with perceived unique value, that sell consistently and even achieve record prices. For example, works by Irma Stern, a South African artist who achieved national and international recognition in her lifetime, have a following and admirers with a good idea of their aesthetic quality and value.
As the pandemic persists, what we may see over the next few months is lots of museum-class art from the US and Europe entering the global art market. Whether this would be good for the market depends on the quality and desirability of the artwork on offer. Just because it comes from a museum doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good. Whether it’s desirable is entirely a different story.The Black Lives Matter movement has created an additional shift in dynamics.