Art Business

By the time you read this book, the art world may have witnessed the sale of its first $500 million painting. Whilst for some people money is anathema to art this is clearly a wealthy international industry, and a market with its own conventions and pressures.

Drawing on the vast experience of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, The Art Business exposes the realities of the commercial trade in fine art and antiques. Attention is devoted to the role of auction houses, commercial galleries and art museums as key institutions, with the text divided into four thematic sections covering:



technical and structural elements of the art market
cultural policy and management in art business
regulatory legal and ethical issues in the art world
the views, through interviews, of leading art market experts.


This book provides a thorough examination of contemporary issues in the art business, and the mechanisms and influences which underpin its evolution. It is essential reading for students of art history or international business, or anyone with an interest in pursuing a career in this area.

Iain Robertson is deputy academic director and head of art business studies at Sotheby's Institute of Art. He is an Asia correspondent for the international edition of The Art Newspaper, advisor to the Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong and honorary director of education of MOMA Beijing. His book, Understanding International Art Markets and Management, was published by Routledge in 2005.

Derrick Chong is a senior lecturer in management at Royal Holloway, University of London. He is also consultant lecturer in art business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London and Singapore, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (FRSA). He wrote Arts Management, also published by Routledge, in 2002.

1. Introduction to Studies in Art Businesss 2. Price Before Value 3. Selling Used Cars, Carpets and Art 4. Investing in Art 5. 'Chindia' as Market Opportunity 6. Private Patrons in a Contemporary Art Market 7. Marketing in Art Business 8. Authorship and Authentication 9. Celebrating the Artists Resale Right 10. Ethics and the Art Market 11. Art and Crime 12. Voice from the Field