As one of the first auction series of the year, The New York January Americana Week can send an early signal of the mood of the public auction market. This year, the message was "fewer, cheaper, and reduced".

- Fewer lots catalogued from sellers:

Sotheby’s offered a reduced number of lots catalogued for its 2021 Americana Week auctions from 1,860 lots offered in 2020 to only 453 in 2021. Christie’s, which had gone through the process of reducing its catalogued lots last year, remained at the same level with 572 lots catalogued in 2021 versus 564 in 2020.

- Cheaper prices for buyers:

The average price achieved per sold lot at Christie’s decreased from $30,000 in 2020 to $19,000 in 2021. At Sotheby’s, the $13,000 average price was slightly higher than last year but lower than historic results for the same number of items auctioned.

- Decreasing auction revenue for the auction houses:

Both auction houses saw their revenue from the Americana week plummet year on year with Sotheby’s experiencing the sharpest fall from $20.8m in 2020 to $4.8m in 2021 (-77%). Christie’s revenue also decreased by 38% from $14.8m to $9.2m.

In summary, the New York January Americana Week auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's can be summarized with the following two graphs comparing the level of lots consigned, the revenue generated and the average price per lot sold obtained accross auction houses and accross years:

- New York January Americana Week auctions at Christie's over the past 15 years: 

- New York January Americana Week auctions at Sotheby's over the past 15 years: 

Source: Pi-eX MESO Report: January Americana Week Overview Report – 2007-2021