A picture says more than a thousand words, and sometimes costs more than a million dollars. The market for fine art has not, however, been quite as ebullient as that for equities over the past decade. Aside from anecdotal instances such as the sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi for USD 450 million in 2017, prices are largely back to where they were 25 years ago, according to an index based on the auction results of over 18 million fine art works (paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, prints, watercolors) since 1987. Therefore, recent trends indicate that adding art to a portfolio to achieve diversification may be detrimental to returns. Not all art is created equal, however. Whereas post-war and contemporary art has appreciated significantly this century, it is 19th century and modern art which sells for less than it did at the turn of the century. However, no major differences have emerged between various forms such as painting, sculpture, and photography.
Source: artprice.com