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Since the boom in the photography market in 1999, the number of photographs sold at auction has never been as low as it was in 2004. According to Artprice data, 7,000 photographs went under the hammer last year compared with nearly 9,200 in 2000. Yet, the turnover generated from these sales (USD 70 million) has never been so high, representing a 31% increase on 2003.
This growth has given rise to some structural changes. The contemporary art segment is benefiting from this enthusiasm, at the expense of modern and vintage photography. Turnover for works by photographers aged less than 65 rose from USD 19.7 million to USD 36.6 million between 2003 and 2004. Yet, only 2,068 of their contemporary photographs were sold, compared with 2,830 a year earlier.
The upshot is that the proportion of contemporary works in total photography sales doubled from 26.8% in 2003 to 52.3% in 2004, with the growing number of major auctions and records.
In 2004, 105 photographs exceeded the USD 100,000 mark, i.e. 44 more than in 2003. Seventy of them were contemporary works.
Photography sales turnover 2004: USD 70 millions
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The bulk of the photography market remains the negatives segment that turns over between USD 1,000 and USD 5,000 and accounts for 44% of transactions. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find works below this price range. As a result, the proportion of photographs sold for less than USD 1,000 fell from 36.4% in 1998 to 23.3% in 2004.
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