Christie’s CEO pours cold water on the Frieze vs. Art Basel debate

With Frieze London and Art Basel Paris finally in the rearview mirror, one could be forgiven for being weary of the relentless London-Paris debate that dominates art world discussions. In the end, both fairs performed well, which somewhat quelled the increasingly boring narrative. In fact, it’s become so boring that Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti felt compelled to refute the argument with a comment The art newspaper calls it a “nontroverse.”

“I understand the appeal of this binary debate that allows everyone to express their views,” Cerutti writes. “An analysis of the data, however, leads us to a different conclusion: the London-Paris rivalry is largely a false debate – a ‘nontroversy’ – for three main reasons.”

His three reasons, set out in subheadings, are: “Paris is making progress, but London is still leading”; “A negative sum game for Europe”; and “More complementary than competitive.”

First, Cerutti refers to economist Clare McAndrew’s annual art market reports for Tefaf and Art Basel. He writes that they “confirm an erosion in Britain’s share of the global art market, which fell from 21 percent between 2016 and 2020 to 17 percent between 2021 and 2023, while France’s share increased slightly, from 7 percent to 8 percent,” he says that the trend was due to Brexit, which made it more difficult to sell works from Europe in London.

“However, the erosion of British market share began long before Brexit, as early as the mid-2000s,” argues Cerutti. “Furthermore, there has been no radical change in the hierarchy of market centers, as was the case between 2007 and 2010 when China overtook the UK. In terms of transaction value, London remains the dominant marketplace in Europe.”

He adds that “the most expensive modern or contemporary works continue to be auctioned in London,” which “continues to maintain its reputation as an international platform for high-value transactions.”

As a second point, the CEO of Christie’s says that the real problem is not simply London vs. Paris, “but the decline of all European centers in the face of American dominance and the rise of Asia.” He cites some statistics from Christie’s auctions for impressionistic, modern and contemporary art in London and Paris, which now account for just a quarter of global annual sales, compared to 40 percent ten years ago.

And finally, Cerutti repeats the standard answer that most people in positions of power in the art world give when asked about Paris joining London’s game – that “the cities are complementary rather than competitive.”

“With the exception of certain categories where there is real competition, such as modern art, each city retains its specific strengths,” he concludes. “London remains central to Old Masters (with the exception of French paintings), Impressionism, antiques, Islamic art and modern and contemporary Arabic art. Paris, on the other hand, is the world capital of African and Oceanic art and dominates Europe in old master drawings, Asian art and design… Each city has its unique strengths. Few collectors or art lovers prefer one over the other. The success of Frieze, followed by Art Basel Paris this year, underscores this point: both fairs distinguished themselves by presenting complementary rather than competing offerings, attracting collectors and art lovers from around the world.”

Well, there you have it. The debate is settled.