Confidence in Photography Market marks a new peak

According to the most recent research report released by ArtTactic – its Photography Market Confidence Survey - the investor faith in the Modern & Contemporary market as far as the medium of Photography is concerned has gone up by an impressive by 9.2% for the six month period surveyed (May 2012).

What are the key observations that the  research report makes to suggest that confidence in Photography Market has indeed marked a new peak?

The Confidence Indicator in the Modern & Contemporary market now stands at 69 (any reading above 50 implies that there is more positive sentiment than negative in the market place). In terms of market direction in the next 6 months, 92% of the experts surveyed believe the Modern Photography market will go up (versus 50% in May 2012), a further 8% think it will be flat or no change. None of the experts believe the market will fall in the next 6 months.

A more cautious trend can be identified in the Contemporary Photography market, where 34% of the experts believe the market will go up (compared to 40% in October 2011), 66% believe it will remain around current levels. Again, none of the experts believe the market will fall in the next 6 months.

The biggest increase in confidence has been experienced at the top end of the photography market (prices above $100,000), which saw the indicator go from 66 in May 2012 to 93 in November 2012. This could signal that the market is increasingly seeking value in higher price categories. However, the current survey findings suggest a broad-based confidence across all the price segments above $10,000 level.

Among the top modern photographers, according to the researchers are William Eggleston, Josef Sudek, Man Ray, Edward Weston, Irvin Penn, Richard Avedon, Garry Winogrand, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, and Manuel Álvarez Bravo. The top 10 Contemporary Photographers are Stephen Shore, Edward Burtynsky, Peter Beard, Sally Mann, Sebastiao Salgado, Philip-Lorca Dicorcia, Simon Norfolk, Martin Parr, Nobuyoshi Araki, and Robert Polidori.