FINE ART MARKETING AND CONSUMPTION

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is on the market and extra-market activity that contributes to the process whereby art attains its value in the market. Something happens once the artist completes an artwork and it starts to circulate in the public sphere. Terms such as alchemy have been used to describe the often mysterious way artworks acquire value: as a result of ‘the market’s alchemy, certain art goes on to acquire extremely high levels of added value’ (Robertson 2005b: 22). Aesthetic judgements and consumer choice clearly play a part. But the role of market players also influences the way in which this value attaches and the extent to which it endures.