This is the final post in the four part series on the “Spectacle of the Art Market” – a topic that I believe to be extremely relevant and very important. As I expected there were some people who did not believe the buying trend I wrote about in part 2 which suggests that there is a connection between the sentiment/mood of buyers and the type of works that they buy.

When you invest in a work of art, especially by a deceased artist, you are essentially investing not in just one work of art but in the artist’s entire body of work which is known as an oeuvre. An oeuvre is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a substantial body of work constituting the lifework of a writer, an artist, or a composer”.

The first major retrospective held in North America of work by Dutch born French artist Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968) was held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from the January 22 to April 19.

I always find it interesting to look at the lots from a particular auction that achieved prices well in excess of expectations because I find you can tell a lot about market trends and the state of the market for particular types of work from this information.

The market is holding its breath ahead of the critical May sales in New York that will inevitably gauge the health of the Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary segments.

CHICAGO—One of the most striking images at Art Chicago 2009, held May 1-4 at the Merchandise Mart, was not in the art itself but rather the sight of fashionably clad gallerists patiently explaining artworks to Midwesterners in Dockers and sneakers.

"Works by Picasso and Giacometti Lead Christie's Sale of Impressionist and Modern Art" - Courtesy artdaily.org

Art-Athina 09 Greek Contemporary Art Fair - artmarketblog.com

In my last past on the Old Masters I gave an in depth definition of an Old Master and explained exactly what an Old Master is in art historical terms.  Although the characteristics that define an Old Master are relatively straight forward and specific in art historical terms, the market has a much broader definition for an Old Master.  According to the Christie’s Old Master Paintings depar

Art authentication is something that I am extremely interest in so much so that I am currently studying art authentication at university. The issue of fakes and forgeries is much more serious than most people realise but because of the way the art market operates information relating to the sale of fakes and forgeries is often swept under the carpet.