Aboriginal Art Market and Prices

The Aboriginal art market constitutes perhaps 20 to 30 % of the entire Australian art market which is estimated to have a value of $500 million per year (source: Access Economics). Art tends to be a long term investment. During 2000-01, for example, the Sotheby's Australian art index (an index of prices) increased by 6%. However, for the five years to June 30, 2001, the index increased by 90%. Similarly, the author of the Australian Art Market Movements Handbook, Roger Dedman, has estimated that his index of 60 of Australia's biggest-selling artists (by value and volume) increased by 10% during 2001.

Once you decide which regions you are interested in, and have identified a selection of artists, you will soon need some information on the average price for paintings or prints by particular artists. By far the best source for data on the price of paintings by Australian artists (including Aboriginal artists) is the online database Australian Art Digest. The service costs AUD $30.00 for one month's subscription for online access, or you can take out a one year subscription for $175.

Sotheby's and other auction houses hold auctions either entirely of Aboriginal art or with large numbers of works, and the catalogues for these auctions are a valuable source of information about prices, provenance and other data. The more recent sales results are available free online on their web sites. However, these data are only for the last few years, whereas Australian Art Digest goes back more than 30 years and is much more comprehensive and easier to search.

See also the page on Aboriginal art investment and the page on Valuation and Appraisal.