Christophe Spaenjers, William N. Goetzmann and Elena Mamonova

When Pablo Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O)” sold at Christie’s in New York for $179 million dollars in May 2015, it was only the 36th time in the past 315 years that a world auction record had been set, and the sale raised questions well beyond the art world. How could a single painting be worth so much? Why is art so important to wealthy households? What economic and social factors could lead to enshrining Picasso’s colourful near-abstract portrait as the most valuable picture in the history of the modern world?

Continue reading “A HISTORY OF THE ART MARKET IN 35 RECORD-BREAKING SALES” →