Memory Lane

As international art prices settle back to more reasonable levels, consider this list of the ten top-selling artists of last year. Andy Warhol has been knocked off his perch by Picasso who has been the regular list topper, apart from last year. Warhol’s total auction value for 2008 dropped an extraordinary $NZ347 million from the previous year. Living artists included on the list are Damien Hirst, thanks largely to his über auction, and Gerhard Richter. A single one of his works was auctioned for more than his entire auction total back in 1998. Here is the list in $NZ.
Picasso $469 million
Bacon $458 million
Warhol $422 million
Hirst $411 million
Monet $311 million
Giacometti $236 million
Richter $218 million
Degas $198 million
Fontana $170 million
Klein $163 million
Numbers from ArtPrice.