Art lovers turn to beach and forest artwork during lockdown periods, are the views from your daily strides saturated with too much concrete and bustling main roads? Yearning for a day by the beach or a stroll through the countryside? After months spent under challenging lockdowns, Artfinder has discovered that the most popular searches on their site since last year have been for uplifting scenes of nature.
Art themes people searched for in lockdown
Whether it’s a painting of a romantic coastline, a lush green forest or even an NHS-inspired rainbow, here are the top searches on Artfinder and Google UK over the past year:
- Searches for artwork containing beaches and trees increased 94% and 74% respectively on Artfinder during the first lockdown (March-June 2020) as many looked to replicate a part of the outside world in the face of uncertainty
- Spiking during the first lockdown, Google searches for forest-themed art grew again as restrictions tightened in the autumn, increasing by 91% during September and October compared to the same period in 2019
- While we might normally associate paintings of beach scenes with summer decor and holiday homes, the term ‘beach artwork’ saw a 24% jump in Google searches during the second lockdown in November 2020 compared to the previous month, 53% more than the same period in 2019
Unsurprisingly, artwork containing rainbows also enjoyed a sharp rise in interest thanks to new connotations with the NHS fight against Covid-19, seeing a 370% rise in searches on Artfinder during the first lockdown period.
Following the announcement of the most recent lockdown in January, Artfinder also saw a rise in interest for abstract artworks, suggesting we are now looking for an alternative escape from reality. From intense volcanic landscapes to boldly coloured sunsets over rolling hills, the peak and troughs for particular searches reveal just how significant global events continue to be in the shaping of art trends.
Michal Szczesny, CEO of Artfinder says “Pablo Picasso once said that ‘art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life’ and all over the UK, and indeed all over the world, we can see that people have been washing away the dust of stay-home orders by seeking out art that depicts soul-soothing settings such as beaches, forests and oceans.”
“By the beginning of 2021, we can see that buyers are turning from familiar, often comforting scenes, to artworks that may in some instances feel more intense, more profound, and which are not rooted in those sights that people are missing as a result of still being stuck indoors.”
The largest online marketplace for art, Artfinder is a VC funded startup, backed by the investors behind Spotify and Zoopla and growing fast, with 110% growth in 2020. Investors include Wellington Partners, Oxford Capital, Cambridge Angels, plus private investors in the UK, the US and Switzerland. In August 2019, Artfinder became the art world’s first B Corp, solidifying its commitment to its values to support artists and make art affordable and accessible.
©2021 Artfinder, Amita Dand, Graham Evans
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