The Dutch art market

The last time the NGA conducted such research was 2017, when art fairs were not included in the survey. 

The artists

The majority of galleries support their artists directly by purchasing work and pre-financing a variety of costs involved in exhibitions. The number of galleries doing this has increased since 2017. On average, galleries represent 17.6 artists. 

The art

Within the gallery offerings, the emphasis is on classical media: drawing and painting (86%), sculpture (72%) and graphics (27%). Of the galleries, 61% bring photography, 28% installation art and 26% audiovisual, digital and media art. The preference of most buyers is similar: 85% buy drawing and painting. Interest in sculpture (48%) and photography (44%) is lower but increased compared to 2017. The share of audiovisual, digital and media arts has remained the same at 3%. Almost everyone (95%) buys art to enjoy it for themselves. Only 7% see purchases as an investment. 

The market

More than half of the galleries (59%) operate almost exclusively in the primary market. This focus may be related to their relatively low turnover and profit, which does not build working capital necessary for trading in the secondary market. The proportion of galleries with a turnover lower than € 75,000 grew from 22% in 2019 to 29% in 2020. The limited financial resources also determine the nature of the activities, which mainly consist of advice and mediation in buying and selling. 

Virtually everyone (95%) buys art to enjoy it for themselves

Most galleries and fairs are part of international networks. For example, 84% of the galleries share one or more artists with a foreign gallery and 38% participated in one or more foreign fairs in 2019. By doing so, they expect to increase their international reputation and contacts and sell more. 

The proportion of buyers who had purchased three to five works increased from 35 to 37%, and the group of buyers who purchased six or more works grew from 25 to 40%. The amounts spent on art remained fairly stable. One in five art buyers spends between € 1,000 and € 2.500. The group that spent less than € 500 grew from 18% in 2017 to 24% today. Nearly half of buyers bought as much during the corona period as before. Over a quarter bought more. 

89% of art buyers know about the KunstKoop scheme. Almost half have used it one or more times. 63% are satisfied with the interest-free loan that can be paid off in up to 36 installments. 

Digitization

The corona pandemic has accelerated the digitization of the gallery sector. 7% of galleries transitioned to online sales during the corona period, and an equally large group is considering that move in the future. One-fifth of galleries made half of their sales through digital sales channels by 2020. The online sales of galleries almost doubled in one year. Over 22% of buyers bought more art online during the pandemic. A fifth bought something through a digital channel for the first time. Nearly 90% of galleries expect to make as much revenue in 2021 as they did in 2020 and probably more. Much of that revenue will continue to come from online sales: 56% expect to generate more business via the Internet. Among buyers, 24% expect to spend more on art in the next three years. 

Exhibitions

A third of buyers consider fairs to be the first and most important place to see and purchase art. Efficiency plays an important role here. Buyers have less time and can view a large and diverse selection at a fair. 

The Netherlands has eighteen art fairs. Eleven of them were established in the last ten years. The focus is largely on the primary market: 60% of the fairs are aimed at galleries, at 53% individual artists offer their work, at 13% art dealers are welcome, and 7% offer stand space to antique dealers. Only one fair is truly international, with a field of participants of which 87% come from outside the Netherlands. The majority of fairs attract between 10 and 20% foreign exhibitors. 

The diversity in the trade show landscape is great. There are events that operate with a budget of less than € 50,000 and mainly volunteers and organizations with more than twenty staff and an annual budget above one million. The number of grants in the low-budget segment (costs lower than € 50,000) went up from four to six between 2018 and 2020. The top segment (costs higher than € 1,000,000) shrank from three to one during that-same time, due to the cancellations of two grants because of the corona pandemic. 

You can download the full study here: Research Art Market 2021