Why you should invest in female artists

Art made by women is where the value is, and prices are starting to rise, says Chris Carter.

"Louis Vuitton shop window display", by Yayoi Kusama © JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

"Louis Vuitton shop window display", by Yayoi Kusama
(Image credit: "Louis Vuitton shop window display", by Yayoi Kusama © JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Move over Jeff Koons and David Hockney. When it comes to making money from investing in art, it's female artists who are in the frame. Is that overstating things a bit? Koons and Hockney are both big names, who continue to attract big prices. Just look at Koons' Rabbit, which sold for $91.1m (£74.7m) in May a smidgeon more than the $90.3m Hockney's Portrait of an Artist fetched last November. Both of those sums set the record for the most paid for an artwork at auction by a living artist and both Koons and Hockney are, of course, male. But on the whole, it's works by post-war female artists that are appreciating at the fastest rate, according to Sotheby's Mei Moses indices, which track the repeat-sale prices of 60,000 artworks.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.