Greek art makes strides on the heady path of the international market

This has been a landmark year for the international art market, with auction houses raking in millions from record sales. Modern Greek art also saw its share of the action, judging from the two big auctions that took place in late November. One was the Greek Sale organized by Art Expertise for Bonhams in Paris and the other was that held by Vergos Auctions, on Greek painting and sculpture from the 19th and 20th century, at Zappeio Hall in Athens. The first auction sold 80% of its exhibits in four hours for 3.5 million euros. The second sold 109 of the 145 pieces on the block and brought in around 2 million euros.

“The gradual exit from the asphyxiating climate of the pandemic created a climate of hope and a need for new beginnings. The progress we have seen in the art market has been very positive and it has taken place slowly and steadily over the past two years, without fireworks,” the head of Art Expertise-Bonhams, Terpsichore Angelopoulos, tells Kathimerini.

‘Major pieces by the great masters of the 19th century Munich School remain the heavy hitters of the modern Greek art market’ 

“Naturally, Greek art tends to speak more to Greeks. However, it has also started appealing to more and more foreign buyers in recent years. At our last auction, some 45% of the buyers came from other parts of Europe and from America,” she added.

“Some opportunities did present themselves, despite the adverse business environment we had to deal with,” says Andreas Vergos of Vergos Auctions when asked what the post-Covid landscape looks like. “For our house, this is demonstrated by the rise in turnover by 150% in 2021 from 2020, while this year looks ready to end at a similar level. Online auctions did very well both in Greece and abroad, and attracted a new buying audience. At the end of the day, hard times always bring an increased interest in art, which is regarded as an investment haven.”

The majority of buyers, however, were Greeks living in Greece and abroad, and particularly in the US, Australia, the UK, France and Germany. Greek and foreign educational and cultural institutions, also showed an interest.

“Art has no borders, so when prices rise abroad this also has a knock-on effect in the Greek art market. We have seen a steady increase in this country in the past six years and believe it will continue,” says Vergos.

Indeed, both auctions saw a great amount of interest in popular artists like Yannis Tsarouchis, whose “Forgotten Guard” fetched 442,000 euros at the Bonham sale. Modernists Yiannis Moralis and Nikos Engonopoulos are also outperforming, giving the older masters a run for their money. Meanwhile, Nikolaos Gyzis’ “To Tama” (The Vow) went for around 300,000 euros, or 47% more than the starting price.

“Major pieces by the great masters of the 19th century Munich School remain the heavy hitters of the modern Greek art market. Nevertheless, there is growing interest in the 20th century and especially the legendary Thirties Generation, but also in the modernists of the 1960s generation who address themes that are more topical today,” says Angelopoulos.