Keynes and the economics of the arts

Abstract

In one of his most memorable phrases, delivered in a speech very near the end of his life, Keynes said that economists are "the trustees not of civilization, but of the possibility of civilization."(l) In the civilization that Keynes the economist worked so unremittingly to make possible it is clear that he awarded art a high, perhaps indeed, the very highest place. Since he was a man of action as well as a man of thought, it was characteristic of him that he should not only enjoy the passive contemplation of art, ballet, and the theater, but also engage himself as an art and book collector and as the promoter, innovator, and organizer of an astonishing array of arts enterprises. And since he was not only brilliantly articulate but also notably practical and energetic, it should not surprise us that by these efforts he did actually put his mark on the development of British culture. This paper briefly reviews Keynes' many and varied activities as a lifelong entrepreneur for the arts and examines those of his writings that deal directly or by implication with the economics of art and culture. In March, 1918 Keynes was travelling to war-time Paris on Treasury business. Degas' private art collection was coming up for auction. At the suggestion of the peti n ter Duncan Grant, one of his Bloomsbury friends, Keynes persuaded the Chancellor of the Exchequer to let him have £20,000 to buy pictures for the National Gallery. Charles Holmes, the Gallery's Director, accompanied him to carry out the actual bidding. In Paris Holmes succeeded in buying thirteen paintings and eleven drawings by 19th century French masters, but Keynes could not persuade him to bid on any of the Cezannes. Paris was then under siege by Big Bertha, which may have depressed prices, and according to David Garnett's recollections, the adventurers returned home with £5,000 unspent. On his own account, Keynes purchased a small Cezanne still life as well as works by Delacroix, Ingres, and Degas. Both Harrod and Duncan Grant date Keynes' career as a serious