Is the art book going through a bad patch? According to a survey published in September 2021 by the National Publishing Union (SNE), if the book market has more or less resisted the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the publishing of art books and beautiful books, it showed a drop of 36% of its turnover in 2020. “The sector has been twice and more deeply affected by the health crisis than certain other editorial segments, due to the closure of bookstores, but especially that of museums and exhibition venues”, specifies the study.
The revenues of the 34 boutique-bookstores of Réunion des Musées Nationaux-Grand Palais (RMN-GP) thus plunged by 65%. “There was no rush on the fine arts during the confinements, because art books are mainly bought in captive places”, concedes the head of the art books sector at Flammarion, which suffered a 20% decline in its turnover.
The late reopening of cultural venues, in May and June 2021, the gauges reduced by 30% to 50% combined with sluggish international tourism, have pushed back the prospects of recovery. Indeed, 57% of publishers surveyed by the SNE did not notice a restart in the first half of 2021. Especially since the sale of art books is indexed to museum attendance. According to the results of a study communicated in October by the Ministry of Culture, it remains on average 30% to 50% lower compared to the period preceding the health crisis. At the Jeu de Paume in Paris, where 17% of visitors make a purchase in bookstores, book sales only reached half of expectations during the exhibition dedicated to German photographer Michael Schmidt, from June 8 to August 29. 2021.
Since the start of the school year, the art book seems to find color. Pascal Priest, manager of the Jeu de Paume bookstore, noted a return to normal. “There is a sweet recovery”, adds Geraldine Martin, director of the Artcurial bookstore, whose turnover is back to 2019 levels. According to the Bookstore Observatory, which brings together 400 establishments, sales of art books have increased by 30 , 7% in September 2021 compared to September 2020, and even 22% compared to 2019.
“A reworked commercial offer”
“The public was waiting for a new program, and we are lucky to be at places with very promising exhibitions, such as [sur la peintre américaine] Georgia O’Keeffe at Centre Pompidou Where [sur la collection des frères Mikhaïl et Ivan] Morozov at the Louis Vuitton Foundation “, explains Marianne Lesimple, sales and marketing director at RMN-GP. It even notes a 9% increase in the average basket of buyers compared to 2020, thanks to “A reworked commercial offer to be adapted to an overwhelmingly French audience”. Art publishers are betting in particular on sales in November and December, in anticipation of the holidays, which sometimes represent up to 60% of their annual turnover.
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