Auctioneer Henry Highley at the Phillips New Now sale in London, July 13, 2021. Image courtesy Phillips.
Auctioneer Henry Highley at the Phillips New Now sale in London, July 13, 2021. Image courtesy Phillips.

Last month was a relatively quiet one in the art world. As collectors decamped to Saint Moritz, Aspen, and the South of France, there was little in the way of auction activity beyond the annual Old Masters sales in London. But art-market players rarely fully unplug, and there was still plenty of auction activity to track on the Artnet Price Database. 

The search queries aren’t free, which means those running them have skin in the game, and changing rankings can offer a snapshot of business interests and activity in particular artists, especially on the secondary market. Below, we bring you the list of the top-searched artists on the Artnet Price Database in July 2021. (Those who had the same number of searches are listed as tied.) 

Before we get into that, however, here is a selection of artists on the rise who haven’t cracked the top 300 yet—but might soon. Given the eclectic nature of the market last month, these names are a mix of fast-rising contemporary art stars and lesser-known figures active earlier in the 20th century who are gaining traction in their own right. 

 

Notable Fast-Risers

Jadé Fadojutimi (b. 1993)

Jadé Fadojutimi, I’m pirouetting the night away (2019). Image courtesy Sotheby’s.

The young London-based painter, who graduated from the city’s Royal College of Art in 2017, is quickly making a name for herself with exuberant, richly colored abstract compositions depicting ribbons of color knotted around one another like constellations. Ahead of her first U.S. solo museum show at the ICA Miami in November (which will be on view during the coveted Art Basel Miami Beach time slot), her auction market has caught fire. At Sotheby’s London in June, I’m pirouetting the night away (2019) fetched $556,832, dwarfing its $166,135 high estimate. Artnet Price Database searchers are certainly eager to follow her career: in July last year, she had a grand total of zero searches. Last month, she drew 76.

 

Hilary Pecis (b. 1979)

Hilary Pecis, Breakfast Nook (2021). © Hilary Pecis. Courtesy Timothy Taylor, London/New York.

The artist’s charming, sun-dappled paintings of life in Los Angeles swiftly sold out during her debut solo show with Timothy Taylor Gallery in London this summer, at prices ranging from $20,000 to $60,000. Disappointed buyers who couldn’t get their hands on one there appear to have duked it out at auction. The two paintings by the artist that have hit the block this year both sold for many multiples of their high estimates. (The final prices were $225,437 at Christie’s Hong Kong in May, and $468,724 at Sotheby’s London in July.) Another artist who did not make so much as a ripple on the Artnet Price Database this time last year, Pecis received a total of 70 searches last month. 

 

Sam Szafran (b. 1934)

Sam Szafran, Untitled (1971). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

For anyone other than a seasoned expert in French postwar art, Sam Szafran might be a bit of a deep cut. The artist, who specializes in using pastel to depict intricate interiors and stairwells, has always been somewhat out of step with the fashions of his time. A favorite of the late billionaire collector William Louis-Dreyfus, Szafran became a more regular fixture on the auction block over the past two years, as Louis-Dreyfus’s holdings were sold off. Even more recently, four of his works were included in Sotheby’s Paris Contemporary Curated sale in July, which was organized by fashion-designer duo Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer. All four works exceeded expectations, with the priciest, L’Escalier rue de Seine, fetching a double-estimate $283,447. Szafran’s inclusion in the sale likely helped boost his PDB searches, which rose from 11 in July 2020 to 73 in July 2021. 

 

Alfons Walde (1891–1958)

Alfonse Wade, Spätwinter (ca. 1935). Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.

Affiliated with the Viennese Secessionist movement, Alfons Walde rubbed shoulders with Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt in Vienna in the 1910s. But he did not find his signature style until the late 1920s, when he began painting mountainous landscapes dotted with figures. Sales of his work have largely been limited to German auction houses, but his market hit a notable landmark in June, when a painting of three skiers became his first to cross the $1 million threshold. Der Aufstieg der Schifahrer (c. 1927) fetched $1.2 million at Dorotheum, almost double its high estimate and roughly twice what it fetched when it was last sold at auction in 2011. Having drawn only 12 searches in July 2020, Walde hit 69 searches last month. 

 

300 Most-Searched Artists in the Artnet Price Database, July 2021

Rank Name Life
1 Pablo Picasso 1881 1973
2 Andy Warhol 1928 1987
3 Marc Chagall 1887 1985
4 David Hockney 1937
5 Jean-Michel Basquiat 1960 1988
6 Banksy 1974
7 Joan Miró 1893 1983
8 Yayoi Kusama 1929
9 Gerhard Richter 1932
10 Alexander Calder 1898 1976
11 Henri Matisse 1869 1954
12 Damien Hirst 1965
13 Keith Haring 1958 1990
14 Roy Lichtenstein 1923 1997
15 Yoshitomo Nara 1959
16 Jean Dubuffet 1901 1985
17 Salvador Dalí 1904 1989
18 George Condo 1957
19 Ed Ruscha 1937
20 Zao Wou-Ki 1920 2013
21 Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita 1886 1968
22 KAWS 1974
23 Fernando Botero 1932
24 Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841 1919
25 Cindy Sherman 1954
26 Claude Monet 1840 1926
27 Henry Moore 1898 1986
28 Lucio Fontana 1899 1968
29 René Magritte 1898 1967
30 Sam Francis 1923 1994
31 Alex Katz 1927
32 Rembrandt van Rijn 1606 1669
33 Alberto Giacometti 1901 1966
34 Fernand Léger 1881 1955
35 Richard Prince 1949
36 Edgar Degas 1834 1917
37 Jasper Johns 1930
38 Wayne Thiebaud 1920
39 Willem de Kooning 1904 1997
40 Joan Mitchell 1925 1992
41 Georg Baselitz 1938
42 Robert Rauschenberg 1925 2008
43 Robert Motherwell 1915 1991
44 Takashi Murakami 1962
45 Max Ernst 1891 1976
46 Helen Frankenthaler 1928 2011
47 Alighiero Boetti 1940 1994
48 Tom Wesselmann 1931 2004
49 Frank Stella 1936
50 Raoul Dufy 1877 1953
50 Christopher Wool 1955
52 Cy Twombly 1928 2011
53 Lee Ufan 1936
54 Bernard Buffet 1928 1999
55 Kees van Dongen 1877 1968
56 Josef Albers 1888 1976
57 Auguste Rodin 1840 1917
58 Lucian Freud 1922 2011
58 Yves Klein 1928 1962
60 Christo and Jeanne-Claude
61 Donald Judd 1928 1994
62 Pierre Bonnard 1867 1947
63 Georges Mathieu 1921 2012
64 Mark Rothko 1903 1970
64 Karel Appel 1921 2006
64 Jonas Wood 1977
67 Jim Dine 1935
67 Man Ray 1890 1976
69 Paul Cézanne 1839 1906
69 Louise Bourgeois 1911 2010
71 Bridget Riley 1931
72 Jeff Koons 1955
73 Georges Braque 1882 1963
74 Victor Vasarely 1906 1997
74 Ellsworth Kelly 1923 2015
76 Louise Nevelson 1899 1988
77 Sigmar Polke 1941 2010
77 Günther Förg 1952 2013
77 François-Xavier Lalanne 1927 2008
80 Sol LeWitt 1928 2007
81 Pierre Soulages 1919
82 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec 1864 1901
83 Camille Pissarro 1830 1903
84 Tracey Emin 1963
84 Liu Ye 1964
86 Kenny Scharf 1958
87 Jean-Paul Riopelle 1923 2002
88 Alfred Sisley 1839 1899
89 Sam Gilliam 1933
89 Robert Mapplethorpe 1946 1989
91 Diego Giacometti 1902 1985
91 Chu Teh-Chun 1920 2014
93 Henri Cartier-Bresson 1908 2004
94 Francis Picabia 1879 1953
94 Paul Klee 1879 1940
96 Lynn Chadwick 1914 2003
97 Ayako Rokkaku 1982
98 Invader 1969
99 Robert Indiana 1928 2018
100 Francis Bacon 1909 1992
101 Rudolf Stingel 1956
102 Maurice Utrillo 1883 1955
103 Adolph Gottlieb 1903 1974
103 Barbara Hepworth 1903 1975
103 Anselm Kiefer 1945
103 Wassily Kandinsky 1866 1944
103 Eddie Martinez 1977
108 Albrecht Dürer 1471 1528
109 Albert Oehlen 1954
110 Wifredo Lam 1902 1982
111 Maurice de Vlaminck 1876 1958
111 Irving Penn 1917 2009
111 Georgia O’Keeffe 1887 1986
111 Richard Diebenkorn 1922 1993
115 Julian Opie 1958
115 Milton Avery 1885 1965
117 Giorgio de Chirico 1888 1978
118 Grace Hartigan 1922 2008
118 Claes Oldenburg 1929
120 Tony Cragg 1949
120 Philip Guston 1913 1980
122 Vincent van Gogh 1853 1890
123 Arman 1928 2005
124 Antony Gormley 1950
125 Emil Nolde 1867 1956
125 Günther Uecker 1930
127 Antoni Tàpies 1923 2012
128 Cecily Brown 1969
129 Diego Rivera 1886 1957
130 Wolfgang Tillmans 1968
131 Jean Fautrier 1898 1964
131 Rashid Johnson 1977
133 Vik Muniz 1961
134 Sean Scully 1945
135 Chuck Close 1940
135 Howard Hodgkin 1932 2017
135 Nicolas Party 1980
138 Katherine Bernhardt 1975
138 Javier Calleja 1971
138 John Baldessari 1931 2020
141 Egon Schiele 1890 1918
142 Giorgio Morandi 1890 1964
143 Niki de Saint Phalle 1930 2002
143 Hans Hofmann 1880 1966
145 Louis Valtat 1869 1952
146 Aboudia 1983
146 Amedeo Modigliani 1884 1920
148 Lyonel Feininger 1871 1956
149 Stanley Whitney 1946
149 Kenneth Noland 1924 2010
151 Jean (Hans) Arp 1886 1966
152 Robert Longo 1953
152 Amoako Boafo 1984
154 A.R. Penck 1939 2017
155 Rufino Tamayo 1899 1991
155 Ansel Adams 1902 1984
155 Hans Hartung 1904 1989
158 Édouard Vuillard 1868 1940
159 Imi Knoebel 1940
159 César 1921 1998
159 Richard Serra 1938
162 Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot 1796 1875
162 Serge Poliakoff 1906 1969
164 Sonia Delaunay 1885 1979
164 Helmut Newton 1920 2004
166 Loie Hollowell 1983
166 Frida Kahlo 1907 1954
166 Moïse Kisling 1891 1953
166 Jackson Pollock 1912 1956
166 John Chamberlain 1927 2011
171 Jean Dufy 1888 1964
171 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner 1880 1938
171 Brice Marden 1938
174 Piero Manzoni 1933 1963
175 Hiroshi Sugimoto 1948
175 James Rosenquist 1933 2017
177 Isamu Noguchi 1904 1988
177 Franz West 1947 2012
177 Joseph Beuys 1921 1986
177 Marino Marini 1901 1980
181 Julie Mehretu 1970
181 Agnes Martin 1912 2004
183 Marie Laurencin 1883 1956
183 Bruce Nauman 1941
183 Eugène Boudin 1824 1898
186 Sir Alfred Munnings 1878 1959
187 Mark Bradford 1961
188 Max Beckmann 1884 1950
188 Edward Weston 1886 1958
188 Manolo Valdés 1942
188 David Hammons 1943
192 Julian Schnabel 1951
193 Lin Fengmian 1900 1991
193 John James Audubon 1785 1851
193 Larry Rivers 1923 2002
193 Leonor Fini 1908 1996
197 Avery Singer 1987
198 William Kentridge 1955
198 Martin Kippenberger 1953 1997
200 Claude Lalanne 1924 2019
200 Mark Grotjahn 1968
200 Peter Paul Rubens 1577 1640
200 Frank Auerbach 1931
200 Shepard Fairey 1970
205 Roberto Matta 1911 2002
206 Alice Neel 1900 1984
206 Gio Ponti 1891 1979
208 Robert Mangold 1937
208 Edvard Munch 1863 1944
210 Mr Doodle 1994
210 Sterling Ruby 1972
210 Aristide Maillol 1861 1944
210 Matthew Wong 1984 2019
214 Yue Minjun 1962
214 Albert Marquet 1875 1947
214 Paul Jenkins 1923 2012
217 Arnaldo Pomodoro 1926
217 Barbara Kruger 1945
219 Zhou Chunya 1955
219 Jesús Rafael Soto 1923 2005
219 Anish Kapoor 1954
222 Emily Mae Smith 1979
223 Christo 1935 2020
224 Jean Cocteau 1889 1963
224 Anthony van Dyck 1599 1641
224 Kazuo Shiraga 1924 2008
224 Walasse Ting 1929 2010
224 Glenn Ligon 1960
229 Mickalene Thomas 1971
229 Joel Shapiro 1941
229 Edward S. Curtis 1868 1952
229 Jenny Holzer 1950
233 Harland Miller 1964
233 Daniel Arsham 1980
235 Marc Quinn 1964
235 Paul Signac 1863 1935
237 Mary Cassatt 1844 1926
237 Agustin Cárdenas 1927 2001
237 Mr. Brainwash 1966
237 Alexej von Jawlensky 1864 1941
241 Salman Toor 1983
241 Oskar Kokoschka 1886 1980
241 Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775 1851
241 Josh Smith 1976
241 Zeng Fanzhi 1964
241 Mel Bochner 1940
241 Jacques Lipchitz 1891 1973
241 Georges Rouault 1871 1958
249 François Boucher 1703 1770
249 Elaine de Kooning 1918 1989
249 Adrian Ghenie 1977
252 Elizabeth Peyton 1965
252 George Grosz 1893 1959
254 Nam June Paik 1932 2006
254 Raymond Pettibon 1957
254 Harold Ancart 1980
254 Mario Schifano 1934 1998
258 André Derain 1880 1954
258 Le Pho 1907 2001
258 Franz Kline 1910 1962
258 Paul Gauguin 1848 1903
258 L.S. Lowry 1887 1976
263 Jörg Immendorff 1945 2007
263 Wade Guyton 1972
265 Balthus 1908 2001
266 Childe Hassam 1859 1935
266 David Smith 1906 1965
266 Eduardo Chillida 1924 2002
269 Romare Bearden 1911 1988
269 Käthe Kollwitz 1867 1945
271 Robert Frank 1924 2019
271 Jannis Kounellis 1936 2017
273 Jules Pascin 1885 1930
273 Thomas Struth 1954
275 Norman Rockwell 1894 1978
275 Peter Beard 1938 2020
275 Peter Doig 1959
278 Francisco Goya 1746 1828
278 Liu Wei 1965
278 Ju Ming 1938
278 Thomas Ruff 1958
278 Ai Weiwei 1957
283 Auguste Herbin 1882 1960
284 Yves Tanguy 1900 1955
284 Bernar Venet 1941
284 Andreas Gursky 1955
284 Genieve Figgis 1972
288 Richard Hambleton 1952 2017
288 Marlene Dumas 1953
290 Guercino 1591 1666
290 André Lanskoy 1902 1976
290 Jennifer Bartlett 1941
290 Shirin Neshat 1957
290 Francis Newton Souza 1924 2002
290 Robert Ryman 1930 2019
290 Thomas Hart Benton 1889 1975
290 Dana Schutz 1976
290 Kehinde Wiley 1977
290 Ben Nicholson 1894 1982
300 André Brasilier 1929
300 Hermann Nitsch 1938