Public art sales declined by 18.8 % globally and by 41 % in the US , in favour of private sales through both auctioneers and dealers , according to 2016 's Tefaf art market report . The most significant change in 2016, Pownall says, was the slump in public auction sales, which fell by 18.8% globally and by 41% in the US. Using a mixture of public and private sources , including analysis of national statistics , financial databases and gallery sales , the annual Tefaf art market report in 2017 estimates that the global art market is worth $ 45bn , an increase of 1.7 % compared with 2015 . However , data collected according to different criteria gave the value of the market as $ 63.8bn in 2015 , the difference being the 2016 survey defined the dealers and galleries more specifically than hitherto . Illustrating the difficulty in reaching an accurate figure of the market 's true value .
Public art sales declined by 18.8 % globally and by 41 % in the US , in favour of private sales through both auctioneers and dealers , according to 2016 's Tefaf art market report . Using a mixture of public and private sources , including analysis of national statistics , financial databases and gallery sales , the annual Tefaf art market report in 2017 estimates that the global art market is worth $ 45bn , an increase of 1.7 % compared with 2015 . However , data collected according to different criteria gave the value of the market as $ 63.8bn in 2015 , the difference being the 2016 survey defined the dealers and galleries more specifically than hitherto . Illustrating the difficulty in reaching an accurate figure of the market 's true value .