Revolution in the Art’s Market

Art is valued based on internal and external features, labor hours, and material that the artist has used. Properties that determine the worth of a piece of art include reputation of the artist, previous prices, physical nature, momentum, tastes and preference, demand, macroeconomic content, quality, and provenance. Purchasers of art can be divided into three different groups namely investors, collectors, and speculators. While collectors are passionate about art who buy it out of love, investors buy art with the aim of reselling it at a higher price. Art pieces can be in the form of pictures, paintings, sculptures, and writings. Different eras have seen significant changes in the art industry (De Marchi & Van Miegroet, 2006).
In the 17th century, the Dutch used paintings to depict their culture through skilled artists such as Pieter de Hooch. Daily events as simple as breakfast, a Dutch housewife during her chores, and the night guards on were shared through the use of art. Philips Wouwermans of “The Departure of a Hunting Party” is another celebrated artist of the time. Auctions were a common feature in arts during the period where sales catalogs were grouped into dealer strategies and painting characteristics (De Marchi & Van Miegroet, 2006). Buyers were required to make part payments before exiting of the auction. False bidding or bidding by auctioneers was restricted
The art industry has experienced a revolution as new customers with varied tastes and preferences give rise to new painting categories and techniques.

The new painting market in Dutch has however been characterized by a series of ups and downs for instance in 1670’s when fierce competition led to a fall in demand for artistic pieces. Adverse content, fashion changes and oversupply were considered among the causes of the slowdown. As a way to restore the art business, dealer strategies and auction markets developed around the 18th century (Smyth, 2011). The move also led to a new type of collectors known as financiers in Paris. Dealers described paintings as a secure asset with unique and scarce characteristics.
Over the years, around 19th century, there was the birth of modern art which steered competitive pressure between the old masterworks and contemporary art (Gosse, 2010). Entrepreneurial art dealers Durand-Ruel and Sue emerged during the period. The first galleries were stationed in London and Brussels in 1870. The Durand-Ruel was the first gallery in New York in 1886 at 5th Avenue. Art dealers comprised of professionals, artists, artist-oriented, collector-focused, collector-connoisseur, amateur, businessmen, and curators.
In the 20th century, art began to be viewed more of an investment (Worthington & Higgs, 2003). With the generation of young rich men arising in the 21st century, art purchasing has taken a different turn with more people collecting and speculating for future investment in comparison to the 18th and 19th centuries. The ‘white cube’ is a version of the 21st-century gallery. Art fairs numbers have increased from 68 to 189 in 2005 and 2011 respectively. The three main events then were Cologne, Basel, and Brussels-based Arts Actual with open outcry and English auction being types of public sale.
Some of the art sales that have taken place include the Sotheby’s art sale where women auctioneers and artists were represented in full by Helena Newman following a successful sale. The post-war and contemporary art evening sale and the Impressionist and modern evening art sale were another success with sales worth $276,922,500 and 54/61 lots and $246,344,500 with 39/48 lots respectively. 20th century and contemporary art sale had sales of $111.2 million with 34/37 lots sold while the modern art evening sale recorded $276,560,500 with 60/64 lots sold. Christie’s and Sotheby’s emerged as the best auction houses with art turnover of $4.968 and $4.570 billion respectively in the year 2015.
The media has played a major role in spreading knowledge of art as an investment tool. Despite the perception that art is a secure investment project, some financial experts are of the opinion that it may not be a good investment after all.

References
De Marchi, N., & Van Miegroet, H. J. (2006). The history of art markets. Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, 1, 69-122.
Gosse, J. (2010). Art on the Front Lines Contemporary Artists and Politics. Radical History Review, 2010(106), 198-214.
Smyth, P. (2011). Representing Authenticity: Attitude and Gesture in Delaroche and Melodrama. Oxford Art Journal, 34(1), 31-53.
Worthington, A. C., & Higgs, H. (2003). Art as an investment: short and long-term co movements in major painting markets. Empirical Economics, 28(4), 649-668.