1st Edition

Global Art Markets History and Current Trends

Edited By Iain Robertson, Derrick Chong, Luís U. Afonso Copyright 2025
322 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

322 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

322 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

The art market is worth billions globally, despite the effects of the Covid-19 health pandemic. This book brings together a strong cast of contributors to explore contemporary and historical themes. Readers of the book will gain awareness of how historical foundations of arts markets continue to impact on contemporary global developments, while transformational digital technology shakes up the... Read more

1. Introduction to Global Art Markets 

Iain Robertson, Derrick Chong, Luís U. Afonso 

Part I. History of art markets 

2. World trade and artistic exchanges in early globalization: Lisbon c.1500 

Luís U. Afonso 

3. A mass market for the visual arts: the golden age of Dutch painting during the seventeenth century 

Filip Vermeylen 

4. The French provinces in the eighteenth century: a desert for the art market? 

Sophie Raux 

5. Collecting patterns for Chinese art: 1600-1935 

Nick Pearce 

6. Dealer networks: the global market for Impressionism and Post-Impressionism from 1870 until 1930 

Frances Fowle 

7. When the dealer shapes demand: Stefano Bardini, master influencer 

Lynn Catterson 

8. Regulating the wartime Dutch art market 

Jeroen Euwe 

Part II. New geographies and challenges facing art markets 

9. Caribbean contemporary art: from (neo)colonial outpost to creative eco/system 

Carlos Garrido Castellano 

10. Heirs of the feathered serpent: the emergence of indigenous contemporary art in Brazil 

René Lommez Gomes 

11. Western auction houses’ global expansion 

Natasha Degen 

12. Singapore’s aspirations to be a global art market hub 

Anita Archer 

13. How do emerging artists enter the art market? A view from France 

Jérôme Glicenstein 

14. Collecting contemporary art in Russia 

Marina Maximova 

15. The art market out of sight 

John Zarobell 

Part III. Digitalization and financialization of art markets 

16. Web3 and the global art market: smokescreens and opportunities 

Nicolas Galley 

17. Art market innovation 

Loizos Petrides 

18. Platformisation and transparency in the global art market 

Marios Samdanis 

19. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the emergence of a new category in Sotheby’s and Christie’s global auction market 

Marta Herrero & Georgia Gerson 

20. Disruptive innovation or innovation delusion? Impact of NFTs on the Korean art market 

Minha Lee & Woongjo Chang 

21. Digital art and value creation: exploring art market dynamics 

Melanie Fasche 

22. On returns and risks in art auction markets 

Yuexin Li & Luc Renneboog 

23. Art as an asset class and as a component of a financial portfolio 

Kim Oosterlinck

Biography

Iain Robertson is Professor of Art and Cultural Management at Hongik University, South Korea.

Derrick Chong is Senior Lecturer in Business and Management at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.

Luís U. Afonso is Senior Associate Professor of Art History at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, Portugal.

"The volume brings together contributions from fields such as applied economics, finance, art history, economic history, business, political economy, and education, reflecting the enduring interdisciplinarity of art market studies. This multidisciplinary yet accessible approach offers inspiring insights ... the result is a collective volume that not only bridges disciplinary boundaries but also deepens our understanding of the methodological pluralism necessary in art market studies, while leaving room for even more integrated research." Anne-Sophie V. Radermecker, Cultural Trends