Online Art Buying Rises in New Market Report

THE NEW WORK TIMES
By William Grimes

Sales of art online rose to $2.64 billion in 2014, from $1.57 billion the previous year, according to a report to be issued on Tuesday by the British insurance company Hiscox. Online art buying, the report found, accounted for 4.8 percent of the value of the global art market, which it estimated at $55.2 billion. The majority of online transactions — 84 percent — were below $15,000, the report stated. It also found that social media were influential in the online market, with 24 percent of respondents saying that posts by museums, galleries and artist studios had a direct influence on their art-buying decisions. [link]