A pandemic, a punch-up, a chute of new records, and a toppling at the top. It’s been a year like no other for Australia’s art auction industry, a year of operatic proportions that drifted at times into soap opera, a year of rapid change and adaptation. The single greatest shift was one experienced across many industries. The internet morphed into a lifeline for auction houses and a virtual mall for captive and cashed-up buyers hungry for a retail hit.
“Remote auctions” became the norm, and collectors grew comfortable bidding big online.
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Gabriella Coslovich is an arts journalist with more than 20 years’ experience, including 15 at The Age, where she was a senior arts writer. Her book, Whiteley on Trial, on Australia’s most audacious of alleged art fraud, won a Walkley in 2018.
