Artmarket.com: the Artprice100© index is continuing to grow… +405% since 2000
Artprice’s blue-chip artists index, the Artprice100©, actually grew by 1.8% over the past year… a year marked by the almost complete absence of international fairs, but also by the forced transition of galleries and auction houses to a digital modus operandi. And yet… the price of the Art Market’s top one hundred artists (by auction turnover) continued to climb, taking its total growth since 2000 to +405%.
Annual change in the Artprice100 © vs. S&P 500 – Base 100 in January 2000

thierry Ehrmann, President and Founder of Artmarket.com and of its Artprice Department: “The resilience of the Art Market in times of crisis is perfectly illustrated by the evolution of our Top-100 benchmark index. The positive performance of the Artprice100 © in 2020, although modest, is extremely reassuring. True… it doesn’t compare well with the US stock markets (the S&P 500 posted a sensational growth of +16% last year, rising from 3,234 pts to 3,756 pts in twelve months”.
While the construction of the Artprice100© is inspired by that of the S&P 500, the two indices nevertheless remain profoundly different and should be compared with caution.
Artprice100© versus S&P 500: warning!
The Artprice100© is designed as a portfolio of artworks representing the one hundred most important artists on the art market (see the composition below). It’s a purely theoretical exercise. It is clearly not possible to acquire a share in all the works by an artist that will be auctioned in the coming year. In fact, no-one can even predict which works will hit the secondary market over the next twelve months. But the results as a whole provide an excellent appreciation of the general price evolution for each of these artists.
The composition of the Artprice100© index is based on purely objective criteria. It is established on 1 January of each year on the basis of two criteria, both resolutely independent of any personal preference: a performance criterion and a liquidity criterion. The initial investment is thus made in proportion to the auction performances of the artists over the last five calendar years (2015-2019), on condition, however, that their works are exchanged regularly: at least seven auction appearances per year over a ten-year period (excluding prints).
Analysis of the composition
There are two good reasons for calculating a specific price index for a set of top-selling artists: firstly it allows the analysis of the performance of a well-diversified portfolio, constructed objectively on the basis of the auction results for well-established artists. Secondly, it allows observation of the evolution of the 100 artists who constitute the veritable hardcore of the global Art Market.
Pablo Picasso remains the portfolio’s dominant artist with a weight of 8.8% in the initial investment. On the basis of all original works by Picasso sold at auction in 2020, Artprice calculates that his price index increased overall by +2.2% in the twelve months of 2020. This result is perfectly consistent with the overall evolution of the Artprice100©.
Picasso is one of 45 Modern artists included in the composition of the 2020 index. This period of creation is by far the most solid segment of the art market and it represents approximately half of the initial investment.
Distribution of the Artprice100 © in January 2020 by period of creation

As in 2019, only four female artists have qualified for inclusion in the composition of the Artprice100© in 2020: Yayoi Kusama, Joan Mitchell, Louise Bourgeois and Barbara Hepworth. They account for just 3.3% of the portfolio’s total value. On the other hand, the number of living artists has increased significantly, thanks to the ‘entry’ of seven active painters, with only three ‘departures’ from the composition.
Entries (living artists) ; Lee Ufan, Zhou Chunya, Rudolf Stingel, Zhang Xiaogong, Yoshitomo Nara, Takashi Murakami, Zeng Fanzhi
Departures (living artists) ; Günther Uecker, Frank Auerbach, Michelangelo Pistoletto
Composition of Artprice100© on 1 January 2020 (Rank, Initial weight, Period)
1 – Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) ; 8.8% – Modern
2 – Andy WARHOL (1928-1987) ; 5.0% – Post-War
3 – Claude MONET (1840-1926) ; 4.7 % – 19th Century
4 – Jean-Michel BASQUIAT (1960-1988) ; 3.6% – Contemporary
5 – QI Baishi (1864-1957) ; 3.5% – Modern
6 – ZAO Wou-Ki (1921-2013) ; 3.3% – Post -War
7 – Gerhard RICHTER (1932-) ; 2.8% – Post-War
8 – WU Guanzhong (1919-2010) ; 2.4% – Modern
9 – FU Baoshi (1904-1965) ; 2.4% – Modern
10 – Amedeo MODIGLIANI ( 1884-1920) ; 2.2% – Modern
11 – Roy LICHTENSTEIN (1923-1997) ; 2.0% – Post-War
12 – Cy TWOMBLY (1928-2011) ; 1.9% – Post-War
13 – Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966) ; 1.9% – Modern
14 – Lucio FONTANA (1899-1968) ; 1.8% – Modern
15 – Marc CHAGALL (1887-1985) ; 1. 7% – Modern
16 – Alexander CALDER (1898-1976) ; 1.7% – Modern
17 – Joan MIRO (1893-1983) ; 1.6% – Modern
18 – Willem DE KOONING (1904-1997) ; 1.6% – Modern
19 – David HOCKNEY (1937-) ; 1.5% – Post-War
20 – Yayoi KUSAMA (1929-) ; 1.5% – Post-War
21 – Jean DUBUFFET (1901-1985) ; 1.4% – Modern
22 – René MAGRITTE (1898-1967) ; 1.4% – Modern
23 – Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) ; 1.4% – Modern
24 – Fernand LÉGER (1881-1955) ; 1.2% – Modern
25 – Christopher WOOL (1955-) ; 1.2% – Contemporary
26 – Wassily KANDINSKY (1866-1944) ; 1.1% – Modern
27 – SAN Yu (1901-1966) ; 1.1% – Modern
28 – Jeff KOONS (1955-) ; 1.0% – Contemporary
29 – Henry MOORE (1898-1986) ; 1.0% – Modern
30 – Peter DOIG (1959-) ; 0.9% – Contemporary
31 – Paul GAUGUIN (1848-1903) ; 0.9% – 19th Century
32 – Joan MITCHELL (1926-1992) ; 0.9% – Post-War
33 – LIN Fengmian ( 1900-1991) ; 0.8% – Modern
34 – Ed RUSCHA (1937-) ; 0.8% – Post-War
35 – Yoshitomo NARA (1959-) ; 0.8% – Contemporary
36 – Pierre-Auguste RENOIR (1841-1919) ; 0.8 % – 19th Century
37 – CHU Teh-Chun (1920-2014) ; 0.8% – Post-War
38 – Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917) ; 0.7% – 19th Century
39 – Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) ; 0.7% – 19th Century
40 – PU Ru (1896-1963) ; 0.7% – Modern
41 – Robert RAUSCHENBERG (1925-2008) ; 0.7% – Post-War
42 – Richard PRINCE (1949-) ; 0.6% – Contemporary
43 – Rudolf STINGEL (1956- ) ; 0.6% – Contemporary
44 – Frank STELLA (1936-) ; 0.6% – Post-War
45 – Sigmar POLKE (1941-2010) ; 0.6% – Post-War
46 – Camille PISSARRO (1830-1903) ; 0.6% – 19th Century
47 – Louise BOURGEOIS (1911-2010) ; 0.6% – Modern
48 – Whan-Ki KIM (1913-1974) ; 0.6% – Modern
49 – Paul SIGNAC (1863-1935) ; 0.6% – Modern
50 – Yves KLEIN (1928-1962) ; 0.6% – Post-War
51 – Keith HARING (1958-1990) ; 0.5% – Contemporary
52 – Richard DIEBENKORN (1922-1993) ; 0.5% – Post-War
53 – Pierre SOULAGES (1919-) ; 0.5% – Modern
54 – George CONDO (1957-) ; 0.5% – Contemporary
55 – Norman Perceval ROCKWELL (1894-1978) ; 0.5% – Modern
56 – WU Hufan (1894-1968) ; 0.5% – Modern
57 – Alb erto BURRI (1915-1995) ; 0.4% – Modern
58 – Gustav KLIMT (1862-1918) ; 0.4% – Modern
59 – ZENG Fanzhi (1964-) ; 0.4% – Contemporary
60 – Egon SCHIELE (1890-1918) ; 0.4 % – Modern
61 – Damien HIRST (1965-) ; 0.4% – Contemporary
62 – Ernst Ludwig KIRCHNER (1880-1938) ; 0.4% – Modern
63 – Chaïm SOUTINE (1894-1943) ; 0.4% – Modern
64 – Fernando BOTERO ( 1932-) ; 0.4% – Post-War
65 – Edvard MUNCH (1863-1944) ; 0.4% – Modern
66 – Pierre BONNARD (1867-1947) ; 0.4% – Modern
67 – Kazuo SHIRAGA (1924-2008) ; 0.4% – Post-War
68 – WEN Zhengming (1470-1559) ; 0.4% – Old Master
69 – ZHOU Chunya (1955-) ; 0.4% – Contemporary
70 – Morton Wayne THIEBAUD (1920-) ; 0.4% – Post-War
71 – Georg BASELITZ (1938-) ; 0.4% – Post-War
72 – Salvador DALI (1904-1989) ; 0.4% – Modern
73 – Tsuguharu FOUJITA (1886-1968) ; 0.4% – Modern
74 – François-Xavier LALANNE (1927- 2008) ; 0.4% – Post-War
75 – SHI Tao (1642-c.1707) ; 0.4% – Old Master
76 – DONG Qichang (1555-1636) ; 0.4% – Old Master
77 – Max ERNST (1891-1976) ; 0.4 % – Modern
78 – Sam FRANCIS (1923-1994) ; 0.4% – Post-War
79 – Georges BRAQUE (1882-1963) ; 0.4% – Modern
80 – Maurice DE VLAMINCK (1876-1958) ; 0.4% – Modern
81 – Bernard BUFFET (1928-1999) ; 0.4% – Post-War
82 – Peter Paul RUBENS (1577-1640) ; 0.4% – Old Master
83 – Ufan LEE (1936-) ; 0.4% – Post-War
84 – Francis PICABIA ( 1879-1953) ; 0.3% – Modern
85 – Barbara HEPWORTH (1903-1975) ; 0.3% – Modern
86 – Albert OEHLEN (1954-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary
87 – Anselm KIEFER (1945-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary
88 – Giorgio MORANDI (1890-1964) ; 0.3% – Modern
89 – Alighiero BOETTI (1940-1994) ; 0.3% – Post-War
90 – Robert MOTHERWELL (1915-1991) ; 0.3% – Modern
91 – TANG Yin (1470- 1523) ; 0.3% – Old Master
92 – GUAN Liang (1900-1986) ; 0.3% – Modern
93 – Martin KIPPENBERGER (1953-1997) ; 0.3% – Contemporary
94 – Takashi MURAKAMI (1962-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary
95 – Donald JUDD (1928-1994) ; 0.3% – Post-War
96 – CHEN Yifei (1946-2005) ; 0.3% – Contemporary
97 – ZHANG Xiaogang (1958-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary
98 – Tom WESSELMANN (1931-2004) ; 0.3% – Post-War
99 – David SMITH (1906-1965) ; 0.3% – Modern
100 – Josef ALBERS (1888-1976) ; 0.3% – Modern
Images:
[https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2021/03/Artprice100-vs-SP500-1.png]
[https://imgpublic.artprice.com/img/wp/sites/11/2021/03/Artprice100-periods-2.png]
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