Art Law 201: Painting the Picture of Sales of Art During a Global Pandemic

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Winter 2021

Abstract

The 2020 pandemic has occasioned unprecedented challenges to the art market. As an industry once dependent on in-person interactions, COVID has changed the landscape, requiring art galleries to shut their doors, art fairs to be cancelled, and auction houses to move to online bidding. In the first half of 2020, the art industry experienced the permanent closure of many galleries, mergers, and take overs by larger entities. As a consequence of the restrictions on travel, many more people are also spending most of their time in at home. Some collectors used COVID and its resulting restrictions to update their collections and to improve the walls of their home. While others were forced to sell their once-prized possessions. Ultimately, the art market has tried to adapt to this new unchartered territory.

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