The Business of Art: Markets, Auctions, Appraisals, Galleries   Tags: art, business, markets  

The Business of Art for the purposes of this guide means using art as a commodity in a commercial sense. It encompasses the buying and selling of art, the valuing of art through appraisal, working with galleries and dealers, and the relative recent phenomenon of international art fairs that market contemporary art. For those of us who study art for its aesthetic appeal or its reflection of society, the business end of the art world is a totally new approach.    

Some good places to gain an introduction to this world include:  

Art Business News. Magazine dedicated to reporting the latest industry news and emerging trends driving the fine-art market. Most recent issue available freely online, Art Business News. 

Seven Days in the Art World - Sarah Thornton

New York: W.W. Norton, c2008. A sociologist view of the contemporary art world. In a series of well-paced chapters, Sarah Thornton investigates the drama of a Christie's auction, the workings of Takashi Murakimi's studios, the elite at the Basel Art Fair, the eccentricities of Artforum magazine, the competition behind an important art prize, life in an art-school seminar, and the experience of the Venice Biennale.