The Polish art market continues its long-term growth trend. The data from last year shows that the pandemic did not scare buyers who willingly participated in the auctions. This year also promises to be successful. In March the record for the value of the work sold at the Polish auction was broken.

Last year was very successful on the Polish art market. The auction turnover amounted to PLN 634 million. This is an increase of over 60% (year-to-year); in 2020 it was PLN 380 million. There were almost 600 auctions presenting over 28,000 works of art.

In 2021, new records for the Polish art market were also set. Magdalena Abakanowicz’s installation “Bambini” was sold at the Polswiss Art auction for PLN 13.6 million. Only 400.000PLN less was paid for “Crowd III” by the same author. For the first time in a year, as many as three works were auctioned for over PLN 10 million. Apart from Abakanowicz’s works, it was also a painting by Andrzej Wróblewski.

At a time when many industries were experiencing a crisis related to the pandemic, the art market grew on. The number of new customers also increased, which translated into more money hitting the market. This can be seen, for example, in the turnover of the largest auction house in Poland, DESA Unicum. Its turnover in 2021 amounted to PLN 280 million and was 43% higher than the year before.

This year, there are prospects for further market growth. Last year’s record by Abakanowicz was broken in March – during the auction at DESA Unicum with a Paul Rubens’ painting “Portrait of a Lady” that was sold for PLN 14.4 million. The painting belonged to the collection of eminent British and French art dealers, European aristocrats and magnates. After World War II, for several dozen years, it was owned by the Egyptian royal family, which in 1952 permanently settled in Paris.

This year, the Polish art market can expect another rapid increase in turnover, which, despite the records, remains relatively small compared to other Western European markets.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński