Books about the art market

Several years ago I bought almost all books on the art market almost in a row and gradually created my own library of this literature. I have it all in English, because, firstly, I see no reason to read translations of what can be read in the original language (I have this snobbery in relation to both Steinbeck and Financial Times), and secondly, I don’t I heard that someone from compatriots wrote some impressive folio on the topic, like in Russia they built and built (yes they never built) the art market.

So let’s get started.

donthompson “The $ 12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art” by Don Thompson

This was the first thing I read about the art market, and it was right! This, of course, is not the basis of the basics – there is no such thorough story about what the art market consists of, as it is in other books, what makes them, and not Topson, desktop ones. But only there I read about how the artist’s brand is built, how the market split between auction houses, and most importantly, only there they show on the fingers how the price of the work varies depending on the image: roses are more expensive than daisies, herd of horses is more expensive than a chariot, a raging ocean more expensive than standing water in the lake, but the most expensive is a naked girl. After some time, when I studied at the Sotheby Institute, I quoted one thought from Thompson to my teacher. He then said that in academic circles it is impossible to say that you read this book, because they no longer respect it. True, he added, it is difficult to call another such thorough and interesting research on the topic.

talkingprices “Talking prices” by Olav Velthuis

This, of course, all the books book! Because everyone else is good and not very good at rewriting each other. They all talk about what the art market consists of, how it was built, how the bubble in the art market sounded, and so on. Good books tell how art works as an investment tool, how art funds work, and so on. Other good books talk about success with examples from countries or artists. Both the first and second quote “Talking prices”, and some on their pages openly admit that this is the best work about the art market. In fact, it is not about the whole market, but only that part where the price is formed. Veltuis compares the primary market of galleries with the secondary market of auction houses, shows the entire kitchen of the first, tells how the state supported artists and galleries, how dealers work, etc., BUT !!! on the example of two markets – American and Dutch, where he came from. Personally, I do not have enough experience of the British and Chinese markets more, but one hour is not even …