Among Italian art collectors there are more women and young people, whose tastes range from the more traditional paintings to photographs, books, design objects and also digital works and NFTs.
This is the picture that emerges from 'Collectors and the value of art in Italy - 2024', the third volume of the editorial series promoted by Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking in collaboration with the Art, Culture and Historical Heritage Department and the Studies and Research Department of Intesa Sanpaolo.
The volume is divided into five macro-chapters, which include an analysis of the prospects for 2024 and the portrait of Italian collectors in 2023. The text includes a focus on the design market and one on works of art restricted by the State and the limits that they encounter when traveling outside the national territory.
According to the evidence of the report, Italian collectors focus above all on paintings (89%), but also select other goods such as books (29%), design objects (22%), watches (16%), jewels and valuables (11%). ), wine and spirits (7%), coins and stamps (5%), vintage cars and motorbikes (4%), also looking at NFTs and digital art (3%).
Furthermore, the majority of collectors (30%) are between 50 and 59 years old, but those under 39 stand at 12% and their number, together with 40-49 year olds (15%), has increased significantly compared to the previous edition (+100%).
The survey analyzed the opinion of 280 respondents, on a panel of 6,398 collectors.
With respect to the artists present in the collection, we were asked to name the most popular, among which Alighiero Boetti, Lucio Fontana and Michelangelo Pistoletto predominate.
This edition of the survey also examined the percentage of Italian artists in the collection and it emerged that in 42% of cases the collections are mainly made up of national artists, while in only 7% of cases only international artists are collected.
As regards gender, women are increasing with 40% of female respondents, compared to 58% male.
As for educational qualifications, university degrees and diplomas are confirmed as the most common levels of education (44%) followed by doctorates, master's degrees and specialization schools (29%).
"This edition is full of ideas, starting from the chapter dedicated to the design market, which traces the history of this sector, among the brightest art sectors also during 2023, a young and constantly growing sector that is inspiring an interest and achieving ever greater importance", comments Andrea Ghidoni, general manager of Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking.
"We hope - he continues - to be able to offer new stimuli for reflection with this publication, in the awareness that art always carries an identity value that must be protected".