The market reception of ‘new connoisseurship’

Abstract

This essay examines the extent to which auction houses have responded to new discourses and authentication practices in art scholarship, especially regarding a more flexible conception of authorship. Based on a data set of 11,024 early Flemish paintings sold at auction, this research combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches to better understand how auction houses promote paintings of uncertain authorship, and how each attribution modifier affects prices differently. The current findings suggest that the buyer’s willingness to pay is determined not only by the art object, but also by three other exogenous parameters: the period of time during which the sale takes places, the reputation of the artist (indirectly associated with the painting), and the standing of the auction house. They also suggest that the quest for authorship remains well anchored in purchasing habits and that information provided by the art market does not always align with recent scientific advances.