Art Markets and Auctions

Abstract

This article surveys the growing body of literature covering the international art market. Though discussions about collecting and patronage are as old as the market itself, the academic field of study is relatively new and continues to expand rapidly. Gerald Reitlinger’s Economics of Taste remains the foundational historical survey of its kind, and Baumol and Bowen’s Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma, which looks at the economics of the performing arts, is credited with catalyzing the field of cultural economics (ultimately leading to the founding of The Journal of Cultural Economics in 1977). This has led, in subsequent years, to detailed inquiry into historical market structures and public policy issues. More recently, as the art world has spread globally and sales of modern and contemporary art have reached unprecedented heights, there has been a flood of writing on the investment value of art and on new types of collectors and market practices. The Internet, meanwhile, has enabled scholars and market professionals alike to actively mine the trade for up-to-the-minute data and analytics. This article aims to ground this sprawling debate and begins with an introduction to the literature on art market history and continues with sections on the following: how the market works, investment issues, critical theory, current market issues; plus there is an overview of analytical and research tools. This article should speak to scholars across a variety of disciplines, from art historians, critics, and journalists to economists and sociologists. Certainly one goal of future art market studies is to bridge this gap by providing intelligent economic analysis of the global trade that is equally in tune with the sensibilities of the diverse actors and positions that constitute it.