Fluctuations in the American market resulted from the outcome of the US Presidential election last November as Donald J. Trump became the 45th President of the United States. Around the corner was one of the biggest auction weeks of the year and possibilities of repercussions of the result on the art market could be envisaged.
However, Art experts predicted that the desire for big names would not be affected and indeed Picasso, Basquiat, De Kooning and others where sold during the week following the election, some of them at a higher price than the estimate.
An explanation could be the choice to acquire tangible assets like gold or art during periods global uncertainty in order to ‘park’ money. Moreover, for the wealthy, buying art is a way to avoid taxation even though some argue that with a lower taxation which could be enacted by Trump, they would have less incentives to buy art.
Generally, we could predict that the day sales directed at art lovers of lower income may be affected by the political and socio-economic changes in the USA. Yet, as far as the night sales are concerned where the higher social classes are the market segment targeted, we can expect only minor changes if not an increase in demand. As an art expert points out: ‘‘Supply is the issue more than demand.’’
