Online sales save global art market: report

An art handler poses with 'Girl With A Balloon' by Banksy, in front of 'Alphabet' by Sir Peter Blake, at London's Bonhams auction house for the 'British Cool' art sale last month. Photo: Reuters

A surprisingly rapid shift online helped cushion the art market from the worst ravages of the coronavirus pandemic although sales still fell by a fifth last year, an Artprice report said recently.

Artprice, the France-based leader in art market data, said the digital transformation of auctions amounted to a "revolution" in the way fine art is sold after lockdowns forced change on a slow-moving industry.