History of Art Markets

Prof. Hans J. Van Miegroet

ARTHIST 231D  // ECON 344D // VMS 242D

The goal of this course is to explore, analytically and historically, the emergence of new art markets as well as interactions between market behavior and artistic creation, art theory and practice, as well as the role of art entrepreneurship and regulatory environments in emerging art markets. We will compare representative examples of emerging markets horizontally in various places of the world, as well as chronologically. This also involves at times a very detailed historical analysis of various socioeconomic, regulatory and art historical contexts to understand how and where new art market segments emerged (or were not able to develop fully), the entrepreneurial roles played by participants in these markets and how all this shaped very specific visual culture(s). Throughout this chronological overview, we will also study representative examples of art entrepreneurship, local product differentiation in the arts and the many innovative marketing strategies deployed by artists and dealers in various regions of the world in the early modern, modern and contemporary periods.  

In order to accomplish this overview of the history of art markets in an effective manner, the course is structured both thematically and chronologically. The chronological organization is necessary to identify several pivotal moments of change and to analyze the factors that caused these changes. The thematic organization will help us to identify causally related economic, legal and art historical principles behind some of these changes. The emergence of the most innovative infrastructures for buying, selling and displaying art affected both local and international art supply and demand for art and its attendant equilibrium structures.  

Assignments

Art historical knowledge is crucial, since the makers and marketers of visual images invariably have had either individual clients or “sorts” of customers in mind. Economic knowledge is also critical, for without economics one is unable to address the reality that art objects are also commodities like any other. All students in the class are expected to read and critically analyze course material, to come well prepared to participate in class. Participation in class discussions is graded for each lecture and discussion section. In the schedule you will find the readings that are due in advance of each class. All readings have been uploaded to the resources folder on Sakai.

In addition to weekly reading assignments, students will work in teams to conduct original research on current or historical art markets. The focus of this research will be on the collection, visualization, analysis and practical applications of data. Data may be collected by the students themselves or gathered from pre-existing databases (i.e. auction results, art sales indices, etc.). Due to the interdisciplinary nature of these projects, students are required to work in teams of 3 to 4 people from different academic backgrounds. This research will culminate in a final research paper, due at the end of the semester and drawing upon feedback received from weekly progress reports. At the end of the syllabus students can find a schedule of due dates and guidelines for all assignments.

Basic Readings

  • Neil De Marchi and Hans J. Van Miegroet, “History of Art Markets,” in: Victor Ginsburgh and David Throsby (eds.), Handbook on the Economics of Art and Culture, Elsevier Science: Amsterdam-London-Tokyo, 2006, pp. 69-122.
  • Neil De Marchi and Hans J. Van Miegroet (eds.), Mapping Markets for Paintings in Early Modern Europe 1450-1750.
  • Neil De Marchi and Sophie Raux (ed.), Moving Pictures. Intra-European Trade in Images (Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, 2014).
  • Bruno S. Frey, Art & Economics (Springer: Berlin-New York, 2003).
  • Ruth Towse (ed), A Handbook of Cultural Economics (Edward Elgar: Cheltenham, 2011).
  • Victor Ginsburgh and David Throsby (eds.), Handbook on the Economics of Art and Culture vol. 1(Elsevier Science: Amsterdam-London-Tokyo, 2006); vol. 2 (North Holland: Oxford, 2014).
  • Titia Hulst (ed.), A History of the Western Art Market. A Sourcebook of Writings on Artists, Dealers and Markets (University of California Press: Los Angeles, 2017).
  • Dan Ariely. Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions  (New York : Harper Perennial, 2016).

Click here to see the Syllabus for this course.

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