Top 5 Art Market Moments of 2021: NFTs, Macklowe, Botticelli, and More
The art market saw a revival in 2021, fueled by live exhibitions, the surge of NFTs, record-breaking private collections, and historic auction figures. In September 2021, Art Basel and Frieze resumed with health measures in place. On March 11, 2021, Beeple's 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' fetched $69 million at Christie's, purchased by Metakovan, marking a milestone for digital art. The ERC-721 (NFTs) topped ArtReview's Power 100 list. Sotheby's New York sold the Macklowe Collection for $676.1 million, with Rothko's 'No.7 (1951)' reaching $82.5 million. In January 2021, Botticelli's 'Portrait of a Young Man' sold for $92.2 million, while Banksy's 'Love is in the Bin' went for $26.2 million on October 14, 2021. Jadé Fadojutimi was recognized as the sole visual artist on Vogue Britain's 'shaping 2021' list, alongside Tschabalala Self and Jordan Casteel.
Key facts
- Live art events returned in September 2021 after nearly two years of pandemic disruption.
- Beeple's 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' sold for $69 million at Christie's on March 11, 2021.
- The buyer was Metakovan, co-founder of Metapurse.
- ArtReview's Power 100 ranked ERC-721 (NFTs) first in 2021.
- Pace Gallery launched Verso and Sotheby's launched Metaverse for NFT sales.
- The Macklowe Collection at Sotheby's New York totaled $676.1 million, a single-owner auction record.
- Mark Rothko's 'No.7 (1951)' sold for $82.5 million; Giacometti's 'Le Nez' for $78.4 million (bought by Justin Sun).
- Jadé Fadojutimi was named by Vogue Britain as one of the women 'shaping 2021'.
- Sandro Botticelli's 'Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel' sold for $92.2 million in January 2021.
- Banksy's 'Love is in the Bin' sold for $26.2 million on October 14, 2021, a new auction record for the artist.
Entities
Artists
- Beeple
- Metakovan
- Mark Rothko
- Alberto Giacometti
- Justin Sun
- Jadé Fadojutimi
- Tschabalala Self
- Jordan Casteel
- Flora Yukhnovich
- Emily Mae Smith
- Amoako Boafo
- Toyin Ojih Odutola
- Nicolas Party
- Loie Hollowell
- Avery Singer
- Cinga Samson
- Sandro Botticelli
- Banksy
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Pak
Institutions
- Christie's
- Sotheby's
- Art Basel
- Frieze
- ArtReview
- Pace Gallery
- Verso
- Metaverse
- Metapurse
- Pippy Houldsworth Gallery
- Hepworth Wakefield
- Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
- Vogue Britain
- Getty Museum
- Tron
- BitTorrent
Locations
- Basel
- Switzerland
- New York
- United States
- Turin
- Italy
- Hong Kong
- China
- London
- United Kingdom
- Wakefield