Art Market Explainers
Auction Previews: What They Are and How to Use One
Auction previews are free public exhibitions held before each sale. What to look at, how to get a condition report, talk to a specialist and register to bid.
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Art Market Explainers
Art Market Explainers
How Collectors Get Access: Patron Circles, Collector Councils and First Looks
How collectors get access to sought-after art: museum patron groups, acquisition councils, gallery first looks, fair previews, auction houses and advisors.
Art Market Explainers
La Peau de l'Ours: The 1904 Collectors' Club That Bought Picasso
In 1904 thirteen Parisians pooled 250 francs a share a year, bought Picasso and Matisse, and sold it all at Drouot in 1914 for about four times their money.
Art Market Explainers
How the Art Market Works
How the art market works: its size, the dealers and auction houses that run it, how prices form, and why its opacity is the whole opportunity for investors.
Art Market Explainers
What Is Modern Art? The 1860 to 1970 Market Explained
Modern art runs from the 1860s to about 1970, from Impressionism to Minimalism. Here is what defines it and why it anchors the blue-chip auction market.
Art Market Explainers
What Is Contemporary Art? Definitions and Market Boundaries
What contemporary art means, where the post-1945 vs post-1970 boundary sits, how it differs from Modern, and why it is the largest auction segment.
Art Market Explainers
The Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold: 2026 Ranked List
The most expensive painting ever sold is da Vinci's Salvator Mundi at $450.3M. Our 2026 ranked list of top private and public sales, with what each signals.
Art Market Explainers
The Most Expensive NFTs and What Happened to Them
Beeple sold for $69.3M and Pak's The Merge for $91.8M. We trace the record NFT sales, the 90%-plus collapse that followed, and what it teaches investors.
Art Market Explainers
Surrealism: The Movement That Still Commands Top Prices
How Surrealism went from a 1920s avant-garde to the strongest segment of the high-end art market, and what drives its prices for investors.
Art Market Explainers
Street Art and Graffiti: From Vandalism to Blue Chip
How street art went from illegal subway tags to blue-chip auctions. We trace Haring, Basquiat, Banksy, and KAWS, the records, and what the market means for investors.
Art Market Explainers
Photorealism and Hyperrealism as Collecting Categories
Photorealism and Hyperrealism explained for investors: the movement's origins, the key-artist auction records, and how the category sits relative to broader contemporary art.
Art Market Explainers
Old Masters: Why the Oldest Art Market Is Also the Quietest
Old Masters are the most prestigious art category yet the smallest auction segment. Why scarcity, attribution risk, and thin liquidity keep it quiet.