Brad Stroman, “Evening Sentry,” Acrylic on Board, 16″ x 16″, 2010

I recently came across a very interesting article in The Art Newspaper, an online arts news digest. It notes that fine art will always be a valuable asset, but that 2010 will be a year of continued shaping for the art market. Between 2005 and 2009 a huge upswing and then a significant downswing to the market changed the (until then) steady Art Market Index. Learn more about the AMI and the Mei Moses Index in a previous blog here.  It does seem to be the trend that auction sizes are decreasing (in number of bodies present and dollar amounts reached for works) and private and gallery sales are now the preferred method of buying and selling.

In my opinion, artists and galleries are now editing, working harder, and bringing only the best works to market. Speculative collectors are turning to other means of investment while true art lovers are getting fantastic deals on first-tier works. On a smaller (local) scale, art galleries in the southwest are continuing the thrive. Although there are stories of galleries closing (over 7 in Scottsdale in the last two years) there are always new ones springing up. Artists will continue to work and there will always be collectors for whom fine art is a necessity.

Read more from The Art Newspaper here.