Susan Adams On Collecting

Art will sell online, prices will level thanks to foreign buyers, and Iraqi-born artist Ahmed Alsoudani will emerge a star.

The Big Trend

After a major contraction following the September 2008 market crash, art prices in most categories have found their level. The bellwether fall auctions in New York did decently, with some record prices set, like the $43.7 million (including fees) paid for Andy Warhol's "200 One Dollar Bills" (1962) at Sotheby's. that's not as much as the $71.7 million Warhol's "Green Car Crash" brought at Christie's in 2007, but a strong price. This year, the art market will be driven by non-American buyers.

The Unconventional Wisdom

Prices for blue-chip post-war and contemporary art will rise. In a down market, sellers are reluctant to part with material, which has the effect of boosting prices for the great works that do come up for sale. Older paintings, like Warhol and Francis Bacon, will do especially well, but don't look for stratospheric prices for the art darlings of the past eight years: the jury, and buyers, remain out. Museum acquisitions from far-flung players will contribute to the trend, notably new venues in the Persian Gulf, some of which have formed partnerships with Western institutions like the Guggenheim and the
Louvre.

To read the rest of the story at Forbes.com