Major auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's are reporting a surge in sales this year, indicating a strong recovery in the global art market. Sotheby's total sales for the first half of the year reached $5.5 billion, a 16% increase compared to last year. Christie's also reported a rise in sales, selling a total of $4.4 billion in the same period, up 17% from last year. The auction houses also set new records in sales of living artists and digital artwork.

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Experts credit the growing interest in NFTs and the popularity of online sales platforms as contributing factors to this growth. The pandemic has also led to more collectors participating in online auctions and purchasing artworks from the secondary market. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the art market has proven to be resilient and adaptable, and these record-breaking sales bode well for the future of the global art market.