Chinese artists' auction sales in slump

The Chinese art market plummeted last year, with auction sales of living artists' works falling by 45 percent as slowing growth and a corruption crackdown under President Xi Jinping took their toll, a survey said Thursday.

By far the most valuable artist was ink painter Cui Ruzhuo, 72, who is known for his large-scale traditional landscapes, said wealth publisher the Hurun Report, which collated auction results for the 100 most lucrative Chinese artists.

Cui's works fetched $120.4 million, it said, far ahead of second-place oil painter, Zeng Fanzhi, who saw his sales value crash by 62 percent. There were no figures to indicate whether the average price of individual works had decreased.