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MyArtBroker Reveals The World’s Most Googled Artists
MyArtBroker uncovers a clear battle between Banksy and Picasso to be crowned the most popular in the world
Banksy is the most popular artist in 30 European countries and has the highest search volume on Google, whereas Picasso is the most searched for artist online
The online global art market is predicted to increase by 494% by 2024
Estimates put the worth of the global online art market at $9.32billion by 2024
Research shows that in 2019, the value of the global art market was £46.2billion ($64.12billion), with a total of 40.5million transactions
Since 2017, the overall market size of the art industry in Japan has grown by ¥33billion
April 2021: MyArtBroker has analysed 100 of the top artists across the globe to uncover the world’s most Googled artists. The study also predicts a 494% increase in the online global art market by 2024. You can view the full story here.
The world’s most Googled artists
MyArtBroker analysed over 100 top artists from around the globe to discover the most popular artist in each country.
The results show a clear battle between Banksy and Picasso to be crowned the most popular in the world. In fact, MyArtBroker’s research reveals that Banksy is the most popular in 30 European countries, and has the highest search volume of 100 of the top artists on Google, whereas Picasso is the most searched for artist in the world.
Banksy is most popular in the UK, Finland and Switzerland and more remote places like Madagascar and New Zealand. A recent study by MyArtBroker shows that Banksy prints increased by 178% in value in the UK from 2019 to 2020, compared to just 86% for Bitcoin for the same period.
Picasso’s popularity is worldwide in places like Egypt, Nigeria, and even the Maldives, however, Picasso’s home country of Spain has a soft spot for the anonymous artist, Banksy according to MyArtBroker’s research into online searches for the artists.
While residents in Belgium are fond of contemporary artist Keith Haring, interestingly, pop artist Andy Warhol is popular in South America - specifically Argentina and Chile, not far from where he was born, the USA. Average monthly searches for Warhol in Argentina are 22,200 and 12,100 in Chile.
Art investment around the world
In 2019, the value of the global art market was £46.2billion ($64.12billion), with a total of 40.5million transactions. The resilience of the art world means that through precarious times, the market has been able to recover better than other industries and therefore offers a safer investment option.
Estimated value of the online art market from 2013 to 2024
| Year | Estimated online art market value ($) |
| 2013 | $1,570,000,000 |
| 2014 | $2,640,000,000 |
| 2015 | $3,270,000,000 |
| 2016 | $3,750,000,000 |
| 2017 | $4,220,000,000 |
| 2018 | $4,640,000,000 |
| 2019 | $4,820,000,000 |
| 2024 | $9,320,000,000 |
The global online art market has drastically increased since 2013 with predictions from MyArtBroker estimating that the industry will be worth $9.32billion in 2024.
Value of the global art market from 2007 to 2019
| Year | Global art market value from 2007 to 2019 (in billion U.S. dollars) | Global art market volume of transactions from 2007 to 2019 (in millions) |
| 2007 | $65,880,000,000 | 49,800,000 |
| 2008 | $62,020,000,000 | 43,700,000 |
| 2009 | $39,510,000,000 | 31,000,000 |
| 2010 | $57,030,000,000 | 35,100,000 |
| 2011 | $64,550,000,000 | 36,800,000 |
| 2012 | $56,700,000,000 | 35,500,000 |
| 2013 | $63,290,000,000 | 36,500,000 |
| 2014 | $68,240,000,000 | 38,800,000 |
| 2015 | $63,750,000,000 | 38,100,000 |
| 2016 | $56,950,000,000 | 36,100,000 |
| 2017 | $63,740,000,000 | 39,000,000 |
| 2018 | $67,380,000,000 | 39,800,000 |
| 2019 | $64,120,000,000 | 40,500,000 |
MyArtBroker’s study shows that although the value of the art market worldwide decreased slightly in 2019 compared to 2018, the volume of transactions increased to levels not seen since 2008. This is likely due to the temporary closure of galleries due to the pandemic and a surge in online transactions.
The rising investment in the Japanese art market
Artists such as KAWS attract a lot of interest in Japan. MyArtBroker’s study shows that the overall market size of the art industry in Japan has grown ¥33billion since 2017.
The top five leading international fine artists based on domestic auction turnover in Japan in 2019 are; Kaws, Bernard Buffet, Andy Warhol, Maurice Utrillo and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
The Japanese art market size has increased by 7% from 2016 to 2019. In 2019, the market size was made up of Japanese style paintings at ¥51,3billion, western artwork was ¥43.4 billion and contemporary ¥31.7 billion showing an appetite for these modern artworks. The market size of artworks in Japan in 2019 was made up of ¥98.2billion from art galleries and ¥19.2billion from online websites. The largest art industry market size in Japan in 2019 was purchased from domestic businesses with ¥227billion.
Commenting on the research, Ian Syer, Co-Founder at MyArtBroker said:
“Online art investments may be growing in popularity but this is far from a passing fad. Our research highlights the increase in not only investment in art, but also in interest for the top artists in the industry. With a predicted increase in online global art of 494% by 2024, it’s fair to say that investment in the global arts world is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
“Banksy continues to be a popular choice for investors with our data showing that Banksy and Picasso are the most searched for artists online across the globe. When you consider that Banksy prints saw an impressive 178% increase in value from 2019 to 2020, it’s clear that the artist provides a substantial long term investment.”
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