Of the £9.2bn ($11bn) worth of artwork sold at auction in 2022, just over $1bn was created by women, according to a report released by Artsy to mark International Women’s Day.
This constituted 9.3 per cent, and roughly the same mark extended to the 500 most expensive works sold last year, of which 50 were created by women.
Despite the disparity, the report does show signs of change over the last decade. Between 2012 and 2022, the recorded mark was just 6 per cent.
Another potentially big indication of change is in the modern art market. Of the auction market share for artists born between 1975 and the present day, 43.6 per cent were female. For artists born between 1985 and now, that number rose further to 63 per cent.
Works by Dorothea Tanning and Barbara Hepworth form part of Sotheby’s (Women) Artists Sale, seen during the preview on May 21, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Sotheby’s)
Less promising were the findings by the AI-powered app Limna, which suggested only between 5 and 15 per cent of the NFT industry’s turnover is generated by works created by women.
Casey Lesser, director of content for Artsy, said: “Our goal with [the report] is to give a sense of where women stand in the art market and shed light on the disparities that still exist, despite the near-ubiquity of women artists in art publications, exhibitions, and art-world chatter today.
“Our hope is that the findings will inspire change in the industry, and among collectors, and to advance the progress that has already been made towards a more equitable art market for all.”
