Art prices fell 4.5 per cent last year, the first drop in six years, as a global boom in the market ended abruptly following the financial crisis.

Prices of contemporary works, which had risen the most, fell 11 per cent, according to the Mei Moses art index. In the five years to 2007, art prices rose an average 20 per cent annually as increasing worldwide wealth spurred the growth of new collectors and markets, such as Russia, China and India.