Women Artists Begin to Narrow the Gender Gap

摘要

British artist Tracey Emin was in the crowd when My Bed-an unmade bed with rumpled sheets, empty vodka bottles, underwear, and cigarette packets-sold for £2.5 million ($4.3 million) on July 1 at Christie's in London, more than five times her previous high. "I was really nervous, and then six people started bidding," Emin says. "I thought it was just brilliant." A five-year rally in prices for contemporary and modern art is lifting the value of works bv women in a market long dominated by men. Six women set personal records in the past two months at auctions at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips in New York and London. A 1960 Joan Mitchell abstract painting sold for $11.9 million at Christie's in New York in May, the most ever for a work by a woman. Since 2004, works of art by the best-selling women have brought in 12￠ per dollar spent on those of their male counterparts, according to figures compiled by Bloomberg from the database of research firm Artnet. Women are starting to narrow that huge price gap as global collectors hunt for undervalued works. "There are more women artists who are getting their due," says Amy Cappellazzo, who runs advisory firm Art Agency Partners in New York.