American billionaire tycoon Jean Paul Getty (1892-1976) believed that people cannot be transformed into cultured and civilized human beings until they acquire an appreciation and love for art.
As the first book of its kind, World Art marketspublished by Kogan Page on July 31, aims to fuel this interest and appreciation.
The 42 chapters, each covering a country, were written by 58 mostly local experts. The book aims to provide an outline of the art market in each country for the benefit of new or existing collectors and investors.
Each chapter covers the following topics:
- Art History: In Terms of International Originality and Innovation
- History of the art market to date: Including taste, fashion, value, artists, art genres, subjects, sales, prices, and records.
- Market structure and performance: including auctions, dealers, trade associations, museums, fairs and exhibitions, training and education
- Taxes and regulation
Despite fears of a recession, particularly affecting the two major trading centers of the art market in the United States and Britain, art prices have either held steady or continued to rise especially for new and often abstract art. How is that?
The answer is simple: the art market is driven by the same forces of globalization that affect all other industries. Over the past 15 years, international trade in art has more than doubled to over $31 billion, and in the last decade prices in the top 2% of the market have tripled in real terms.
About the author
James Goodwin MA, MBA Lectures on Art Market at Maastricht University, Netherlands, City University, Kingston University and Christie’s education, London. His research and writing has appeared in The Economist, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, and numerous art and vintage magazines.
Posted by Kogan Page, www.koganpage.com