Paint by reduced numbers: Women erased from peak sales in the art world

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but many female artists are finding that the stories their works tell are failing to resonate in the art auction world.

Between 2000 and 2017, work by women artists accounted for less than 4% of total art sold at auction and, at the top end of the market, they failed to attract the same kind of high selling prices as male artists.

No women are represented in the world’s top 40 highest-selling artists, who account for 40% of the total sales value at art auctions. Think Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Claude Monet et al, whose works each sell for millions of dollars.

Just one female artist, Joan Mitchell, cracks the top 50.

A world-first international study by researchers from Maastricht University, Monash University and Artnet Worldwide, based in New York City, documents some of these inequalities.

The study focuses on the fine art category that includes photography, prints and multiples, works on paper, paintings, installations, design objects, and sculptures.

Marina Gertsberg, a lecturer in banking and finance in the Monash Business School, was part of the study, and said one reason why the art market is prone to inequality is because there’s considerable uncertainty about the quality and, therefore, value of an artist.

“People dislike uncertainty and want to avoid it; they want to purchase art by artists where they know the quality is good,” she said.

“People might make conclusions about the prospect of an artist based on the attributes of superstar artists traded at the top (who are almost all male). They might think it’s safer to purchase an artwork that shares as many attributes as possible with the artwork of superstar artists, and so gender is a very salient attribute.

“Our investigation considered the prices paid at auction for artworks created by male and female artists based on birth-identified sex, and how these prices have evolved over time,” she said.

Male art dominated sales across 1800 auction houses

Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Cultural Economics.

The data was drawn from almost the full population of global art auction transactions for Western artists from 2000-2017, covering more than 1800 auction houses. It found that 96.1% (2,572,346) of all artworks sold at auctions worldwide were attributed to male artists.

The study also found that the average prices of female artworks were significantly below the average price for male artworks ($39,065 versus $45,614).

But, when taking into account factors such as size of the artwork, genre, the auction house, and when the art was sold, female-produced art was, on average, 4.4% more expensive.

With respect to the number of artists at auction sales, men dominated with a 95.2% share. The proportion of female artists was highest in contemporary art (9.3%), and the least for artwork from the “Old Masters’” period (2.9%).

Unsurprisingly, just as women are underrepresented in the art auction market, so, too, are they in permanent collections (3-5%).

Dr Gertsberg ascribes some of this to the “superstar” effect.

“Women might feel discouraged by their market prospects at the very top, or they might experience discrimination by dealers and buyers who ascribe higher potential to men at the very top,” she said. “These two effects could reinforce each other.”

“Women should be given the chance to compete side-by-side with men. The fact that the auction prices are higher for artwork by women than artwork by men shows that women can compete when given the chance.”

She said increasing the visibility of female artists, and giving them the chance to compete early on in their careers, is therefore important in improving female representation.

“Also, successes by female artists can create a ‘snowball effect’ by providing guidance and motivation for young aspiring female artists,” she said.

“There’s currently some movement in this direction. Museums and galleries are increasing the share of female artists on display. This helps buyers to get acquainted with female art, and gain more confidence in it.

“Exposure is key. At the same time, it’s important to not segregate female and male artists; for example, “women-only” exhibits don’t allow the audience to compare artworks by males and females, and pushes female art to a niche category.

“Women should be given the chance to compete side-by-side with men. The fact that the auction prices are higher for artwork by women than artwork by men shows that women can compete when given the chance.”