What is the Artprice100© Index?

The Artprice100© is conceived as a portfolio of artworks representing the one hundred most important artists in the art market (see composition below). It is a purely theoretical exercise.

It is indeed impossible to acquire a share of all of an artist's works that will be auctioned in the coming year. Indeed, no one can predict which works will appear on the secondary market in the next twelve months. But the results as a whole offer an excellent indication of the general price trend for each of these artists.

The composition of the Artprice100© index is based on purely objective criteria. It is determined on January 1st of each year based on two criteria, both of which are completely independent of personal preferences: a performance criterion and a liquidity criterion .

The initial investment is therefore based on the artists' auction performance over the last five calendar years (2015-2019), but on the condition that their works are regularly exchanged: at least seven auction appearances per year over a period of ten years (excluding prints).

Analysis of the composition

There are two good reasons to calculate a specific price index for a range of high-selling artists: First, it allows for the analysis of the performance of a well-diversified portfolio objectively constructed based on auction results for established artists. Second, it enables the observation of the development of the 100 artists who form the true core of the global art market.

Pablo Picasso remains the dominant artist in the portfolio, with a weighting of 8.8% in the initial investment. Based on all original Picasso works auctioned in 2020, Artprice calculates that its price index rose by a total of +2.2% in the twelve months of 2020. This result is perfectly consistent with the overall performance of the Artprice100©.

Picasso is one of 45 modern artists included in the 2020 index. This creative period is by far the most stable segment of the art market and accounts for roughly half of the initial investment.

As in 2019, only four female artists qualified for inclusion in the Artprice100© portfolio in 2020: Yayoi Kusama , Joan Mitchell , Louise Bourgeois , and Barbara Hepworth . They represent only 3.3% of the portfolio's total value. On the other hand, the number of living artists increased significantly thanks to the addition of seven active painters and only three departures from the portfolio.

Entries (living artists): Lee Ufan, Zhou Chunya, Rudolf Stingel, Zhang Xiaogong, Yoshitomo Nara, Takashi Murakami , Zeng Fanzhi

Departures (living artists); Günther Uecker, Frank Auerbach, Michelangelo Pistoletto

Composition of the Artprice100© as of January 1, 2020 (placement, weighting, style period)

1. Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) ; 8.8% – Modern Art
2. Andy Warhol (1928-1987); 5.0% – Post-War Art
3. Claude Monet (1840-1926); 4.7% – 19th century
4. Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988); 3.6% – Contemporary Art
5. QI Baishi (1864-1957) ; 3.5% – Modern Art
6. ZAO Wou-Ki (1921-2013); 3.3% – Post-war art
7. Gerhard Richter (1932-) ; 2.8% – Post-war art
8. WU Guanzhong (1919-2010) ; 2.4% – Modern Art
9. FU Baoshi (1904-1965) ; 2.4% – Modern Art
10. Amedeo MODIGLIANI (1884-1920) ; 2.2% – Modern Art
11. Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997); 2.0% – Post-war art
12. Cy Twombly (1928-2011); 1.9% – Post-war art
13. Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966) ; 1.9% – Modern Art
14. Lucio FONTANA (1899-1968) ; 1.8% – Modern Art
15. Marc Chagall (1887-1985); 1.7% – Modern Art
16. Alexander CALDER (1898-1976) ; 1.7% – Modern Art
17. Joan Miró (1893-1983); 1.6% – Modern Art
18. Willem DE KOONING (1904-1997) ; 1.6% – Modern Art
19. David HOCKNEY (1937-) ; 1.5% – Post-war art
20. Yayoi KUSAMA (1929-) ; 1.5% – Post-war art
21. Jean DUBUFFET (1901-1985) ; 1.4% – Modern Art
22. René MAGRITTE (1898-1967) ; 1.4% – Modern Art
23. Henri MATISSE (1869-1954) ; 1.4% – Modern Art
24. Fernand LÉGER (1881-1955) ; 1.2% – Modern Art
25. Christopher Wool (1955-) ; 1.2% – Contemporary Art
26. Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944); 1.1% – Modern Art
27. SAN Yu (1901-1966) ; 1.1% – Modern Art
28. Jeff Koons (1955-) ; 1.0% – Contemporary Art
29. Henry MOORE (1898-1986) ; 1.0% – Modern Art
30. Peter DOIG (1959-) ; 0.9% – Contemporary Art
31. Paul Gauguin (1848-1903); 0.9% – 19th century
32. Joan Mitchell (1926-1992); 0.9% – Post-war art
33. LIN Fengmian (1900-1991); 0.8% – Modern Art
34. Ed RUSCHA (1937-) ; 0.8% – Post-war art
35. Yoshitomo NARA (1959-) ; 0.8% – Contemporary Art
36. Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919); 0.8% – 19th century
37. CHU Teh-Chun (1920-2014); 0.8% – Post-war art
38. Edgar Degas (1834-1917); 0.7% – 19th century
39. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917); 0.7% – 19th century
40. PU Ru (1896-1963) ; 0.7% – Modern Art
41. Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008); 0.7% – Post-war art
42. Richard Prince (1949-) ; 0.6% – Contemporary Art
43. Rudolf Stingel (1956- ) ; 0.6% – Contemporary Art
44. Frank Stella (1936-) ; 0.6% – Post-war art
45. Sigmar Polke (1941-2010); 0.6% – Post-war art
46. Camille Pissarro (1830-1903); 0.6% – 19th century
47. Louise BOURGEOIS (1911-2010) ; 0.6% – Modern Art
48. Whan-Ki KIM (1913-1974) ; 0.6% – Modern Art
49. Paul SIGNAC (1863-1935) ; 0.6% – Modern Art
50. Yves Klein (1928-1962); 0.6% – Post-war art
51. Keith Haring (1958-1990); 0.5% – Contemporary Art
52. Richard Diebenkorn (1922-1993); 0.5% – Post-war art
53. Pierre SOULAGES (1919-) ; 0.5% – Modern Art
54. George Condo (1957-) ; 0.5% – Contemporary Art
55. Norman Perceval ROCKWELL (1894-1978) ; 0.5% – Modern Art
56. WU Hufan (1894-1968) ; 0.5% – Modern Art
57. Alberto BURRI (1915-1995) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
58. Gustav KLIMT (1862-1918) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
59. ZENG Fanzhi (1964-) ; 0.4% – Contemporary Art
60. Egon Schiele (1890-1918); 0.4% – Modern Art
61. Damien Hirst (1965-) ; 0.4% – Contemporary Art
62. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938); 0.4% – Modern Art
63. Chaïm SOUTINE (1894-1943) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
64. Fernando Botero (1932-) ; 0.4% – Post-war art
65. Edvard MUNCH (1863-1944) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
66. Pierre BONNARD (1867-1947); 0.4% – Modern Art
67. Kazuo Shiraga (1924-2008); 0.4% – Post-war art
68. WEN Zhengming (1470-1559) ; 0.4% – Old Masters
69. ZHOU Chunya (1955-) ; 0.4% – Contemporary Art
70. Morton Wayne Thiebaud (1920-) ; 0.4% – Post-war art
71. Georg Baselitz (1938-) ; 0.4% – Post-war art
72. Salvador DALI (1904-1989) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
73. Tsuguharu FOUJITA (1886-1968) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
74. François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008); 0.4% – Post-war art
75. SHI Tao (1642-c.1707) ; 0.4% – Old Masters
76. DONG Qichang (1555-1636) ; 0.4% – Old Masters
77. Max Ernst (1891-1976); 0.4% – Modern Art
78. Sam Francis (1923-1994); 0.4% – Post-war art
79. Georges Braque (1882-1963); 0.4% – Modern Art
80. Maurice DE VLAMINCK (1876-1958) ; 0.4% – Modern Art
81. Bernard Buffet (1928-1999); 0.4% – Post-war art
82. Peter Paul RUBENS (1577-1640) ; 0.4% – Old Masters
83. Ufan LEE (1936-) ; 0.4% – Post-war art
84. Francis Picabia (1879-1953); 0.3% – Modern Art
85. Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975); 0.3% – Modern Art
86. Albert OEHLEN (1954-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary Art
87. Anselm Kiefer (1945-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary Art
88. Giorgio MORANDI (1890-1964) ; 0.3% – Modern Art
89. Alighiero BOETTI (1940-1994) ; 0.3% – post-war art
90. Robert Motherwell (1915-1991); 0.3% – Modern Art
91. TANG Yin (1470-1523) ; 0.3% – Old Masters
92. GUAN Liang (1900-1986) ; 0.3% – Modern Art
93. Martin Kippenberger (1953-1997); 0.3% – Contemporary Art
94. Takashi Murakami (1962-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary Art
95. Donald Judd (1928-1994); 0.3% – Post-war art
96. CHEN Yifei (1946-2005); 0.3% – Contemporary Art
97. ZHANG Xiaogang (1958-) ; 0.3% – Contemporary Art
98. Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004); 0.3% – Post-war art
99. David Smith (1906-1965); 0.3% – Modern Art
100. Josef Albers (1888-1976); 0.3% – Modern Art

Source: Artmarket.com: the Artprice100© index is continuing to grow… +405% since 2000 (Author: Thierry Ehrmann)

Artprice100© – Value development over the last 20 years

Artprice 100© , the blue-chip artist index frequently cited as a benchmark, even grew by 1.8% in the Corona crisis year of 2020—a year characterized by the almost complete absence of international art fairs, but also by the forced transition of galleries and auction houses to a digital modus operandi. And yet… the prices of the 100 best artists on the art market (by auction sales) continued to rise, increasing by a remarkable 36% in 2021.

Since 2000, the prices of the top 100 artists in the Artprice Index have risen by a staggering +589% (in comparison: the S&P 500 only increased by +224% in the same period).

For this reason, 86% of asset managers art an integral part of a well-diversified portfolio. If you invest in art but prefer a more secure approach, investing in "blue-chip art" . Similar to the stock market, blue-chip art the works of the most renowned artists whose positions in the auction market have consistently remained at the top over the years.

The demand for these world-renowned artists is constantly increasing, which is why the prospects for appreciation in value and resale value are extremely positive in the future.

You can find more information about investment opportunities, return potential and investment types in Blue Chip Art in our articles:

• Art as an investment – ​​Blue Chip Art outperforms stocks, gold, real estate and inflation
• Investing successfully in art – art as an investment
• Why invest in art? Opportunities, tips, dos & don'ts

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor, and passionate blogger in the fields of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Graduated with a degree in web design from university (2008). Further developed creative techniques through courses in freehand drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market gained through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with key players and institutions in the arts and culture sector.

www.kunstplaza.de