End-of-year results confirm that Webb’s leads New Zealand auction market
One must be careful about quoting statistics in the art world for, as Henry Clay once said, “statistics are no substitute for judgment”. Webb's is pleased to announce that, in 2011, we sold more art by value through auction than did any of our competitive colleagues (refer Australian Art Sales Digest) and transacted significantly more total sales by value than did any other auction house. Webb's also secured the highest number of sales of over $100,000, 37% ahead of the nearest competitor in the fine art field and a staggering 67% ahead across all of the markets. Webb's also convincingly outperformed all other auction houses in the fields of jewellery, fine wine, Oceanic arts and vintage automobiles. 2011 also saw Webb’s turnover increased by 15% for the second year running, affirming confidence in the future of the markets served by our company.
When compared with similar activity in 2010, a greater number of high-value art transactions have taken place in 2011, with 15 individual sales over the $100,000 mark versus 11 in 2010. The same trend applies to fine art sales over the $50,000 mark, with 37 in 2011 and 23 in 2010. The auction market over the year was characterised by moderate but promising activity. One would have expected uncertain economic forecasts to curb investment in cultural assets such as art, jewellery and antiques. In practice, collectors have continued to collect although buyers have become more discerning. Increased knowledge on the part of collectors has driven enthusiasm for the best of the best across all genres. Careful consideration of quality, condition and provenance has resulted in a more sophisticated, mature and stable market.
We wish you, your friends and your families all the best for the holiday season and we look forward to an exciting 2012.
Neil Campbell, Sophie Coupland and the team at Webb's.
OVERVIEW OF WEBB'S 2011 HIGHLIGHTS
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