The Market Impact of APAA Advisors

The Association of Professional Art Advisors (APAA) conducted a multi-year survey (2018-2021) compiling data from 115 advisor members in order to shed light on the impact art advisors have in the market. Due to confidentiality on their ability to disclose sales figures, the actual impact of APAA advisors is likely much greater than the total values expressed in the survey findings.

From 2018 to 2021, based on the APAA members that were at liberty to provide responses, member advisors managed $1.2 billion relating to the acquisition and sale of art. The largest dip was in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on the ability to attend, sell, and buy art in person. This restriction caused APAA advisors’ online purchasing of artwork to increase by 227% from 2019 to 2020. Even after fairs, galleries and institutions began opening back up, on-line purchases maintained high volumes—only decreasing 11% from 2020 to 2021.

When looking at more traditional platforms for the acquisition of art, member data shows a steady pattern year over year. The average amount spent at auctions, art fairs, and galleries remained largely unchanged, with spending highest at galleries on average. Art sales, however, tell a slightly different story, with 2019 average sales booming at auctions. After an unsurprising dip in 2020, sales began climbing again in 2021, with gallery sales increasing by 39% since 2019. The shift toward gallery and private sales potentially signals a shift in the way APAA advisors find work for clients.

Of the members who participated, 32% are corporate art curators working on staff and 68% are independent art advisors. The largest client age group was 45-54, with 55-64 and 25-34 as close seconds. On average (2018-2021), APAA members work with 12 clients per year. However, this number has jumped 14.5% since 2019, signaling that advisors are taking on more entry-level or project-specific clients rather than a few significant core clients. In 2021 alone, APAA members worked with more than 500 clients.

APAA members have a far-reaching impact on the art community at large. Members highly value philanthropy, dedicating their expertise to over 66 boards, their time to over 95 organizations, and their money to over 345 organizations annually. APAA’s corporate art curators, working in-house, steward collections containing over 4,000 works locally, over 2,800 works nationally, and over 1,200 works internationally.

“APAA Advisors have played active roles in the art market since our founding in 1980 and, with their clients, are even more impactful in recent years. We work on both sales and acquisitions of art for private collectors, artist estates, foundations, and museums. Coming out of COVID-19 lockdowns and building back up in 2021, our member advisors’ businesses continue to expand in their services and offers.” - Megan Fox Kelly, President of the APAA

Download the press release here.

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