Art Economics and Markets

This essay investigates the historical moment when the first modern art ‘isms’ became ‘classic’, a phenomenon reflected in the Oskar Reinhart Collection, and later in the E. G. Bührle, Duncan Phillips and Chester Dale art collections, among others.  It was a moment when the French Impressionists and Postimpressionists were largely separated from the post-1900 avant-gardes (to which they had been closely allied before 1910, as in the Gertrude Stein and Ivan Morozov collections).  Collectors like Reinhart may be distinguished from earlier collectors of French Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings by their distance from the artists whose work they collected.  They entered this market around the time of the First World War or later, when the prices for Impressionist and Postimpressionist art had already begun to rise significantly, and they did their most extensive collecting of 'classic French modern' art between the 1920s and the 1940s.  Characteristic of many of these collectors was their desire to mix the collecting of old Master art with modern French paintings made before 1900 (with rare forays into Fauve and Cubist works of art).  Overall, these collectors showed comparatively little interest in post-1907 avant-garde art, except for School of Paris painting.

TOOLS FOR THE FUTURE
Workshop 3
The Formation and Development of New Art Markets

Art in Emerging Markets: The Case of India

India’s art market is not new (as there is a long tradition of collecting), but certainly an emerging one: Art Tactic’s recent report recorded a 7.7% increase in the South Asian art market and an increase in gallery sales of 9.1%. Along with the growth the art infrastructure is being built gradually: new biennales (Kochi-Muziris, Chennai Photo Biennale) and – with the lack of government support – new private and corporate museums (Piramal Museum of Art, Museum of Art and Photography, etc.) are being established, as well as new models of philanthropy (e.g. crowdfunding) are being adopted within the last 5 to 10 years.
The ongoing research project aims to investigate the distinctive characteristics of the Indian art market, and to understand the dynamics behind its current, rapid evolution – with special regards to the role of education (a new generation of professionals to contribute to the arts ecosystem and of collectors); the increasing importance of the so-called social media influencers, as well as the interior designers as tastemakers; and the challenges of entering the international market.
The empirical context of the research is the India Art Fair 2019, the biggest and most significant platform of the primary market for modern and contemporary art in the South Asian region. In-depth interviews have been conducted with 12 professionals working at the Indian art scene, such as gallerists, artists, museum directors, and private collectors. Based on this preliminary research a questionnaire has been constructed and sent out to the 75 exhibitors of the fair: modern and contemporary, Indian and international galleries, as well as non-profit institutions. The data collected will be subject to further analysis.

This op-ed style essay examines the wildly exaggerated claims made for Non-Fungible Tokens or NFT artworks. Above all, it questions the NFT's  peculiar reversal of digital media's inherent interchangeability by turning back to the centuries-old legacy of individual authorship and visionary private property. "NFT Fever: Is it Time for a Great Refusal 2.0?," was originally written for and published by the Portuguese cultural journal, Electra Magazine, and is hereby updated with some important corrections to the technical details. https://www.fundacaoedp.pt/en/content/electra-magazine

Apart from a few notable exceptions, British painters from the late Victorian and Edwardian periods have suffered from the modernist historiography which deemed it parochial and unworthy of study. Recent developments in art history have generally revised such scathing opinion and have sought to reassess the artistic quality of many pre-WWI British painters.

While riding this wave of reappraisals, this dissertation is less interested in entering the aesthetic debate than disputing the domestic nature of late Victorian and Edwardian art. Indeed, by drawing from an interdisciplinary approach including cultural studies, cultural economics and art history, the present study aims at contextualising late Victorian and Edwardian painting in an international artistic environment in order to assess its critical and commercial success.

Due to its dual nature as exhibition and commercial platform as well as some strong Anglophile leaning in its early period, the Venice Biennale arguably provides an ideal case study. Over its eleven pre-war editions running between 1895 and 1914, it gradually shifted from late-comer to reference point in the international artistic arena. Chartering the evolution of the presence, reception and commercial results of British painters at Venice, this dissertation intends to shed more light on a sample of circa three hundred artists and their place within a segment of the international Belle époque art market.

Artists and art communities are essential to the cultural life of cities. In New York City, artists have created networks of artist-run galleries in unlikely spaces that are outside the corporate gallery system. Sociologist Mary Kosut explores how artists generate alternative urban art economies within the contemporary New York art world.

This conference paper proposes a new type of art investment platform. The unified decentralized platform aims to solve the problem of collapse and stagnation on the art market, art investment, and creative industry in general. The project is aimed at all the main parties in the art business and it is using blockchain technology and tokenization. The paper summarizes the situation on the market and describes the resolution to the problem.

Tintoretto found creative ways to advance his career by tapping into new markets and advertising his skills.  This paper looks at how he expanded production  as prices for  paintings failed to match the steep rise in food prices in the first half of the sixteenth century.  Painting fast was one solution; another was aggressive marketing; another was to make votive donations of paintings.  Striking parallels can be drawn between Tintoretto and the self-promotional strategies of the contemporary proto-journalists or 'poligrafi' who were active in feeding the Venetian press with their writings.

Art Cologne was the first Contemporary Art Fair (CAF), Art Basel is the leading art fair globally, but todays Global Art Fair (GAF) model was invented by ARCOmadrid in beginning and  mid 90s turning the art fair into an 'experience'  showcasing global art as well as a full range of artistic and extra-artistic activities.

Curated art fair sections, panels and conferences, performances, collector's programs, Vip lounges and acitvities, parallel openings at museums...what today everyone considers normal of an art fair didn´t exist in the contemporary art fair. It is ARCOmadrid and its director Rosina Gómez-Baeza who end of the 80s and beginning of the 90s launches a set of activities that were to crystalize in today's experiential art fair model.

Why did ARCOmadrid and not Art Cologne or Art Basel able to pull off today's GAF model?

This is what is here explained with the corresponding data, names and facts.

Where could St. Petersburgers see and learn about works of art in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries? Most scholarly literature about this period dwells on the absence of art on public view in Russia's capital, relieved only by the triennial exhibitions at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Recent research, however, shows that exhibitions held before auctions and estate sales served as important venues for members of the literate classes to develop their knowledge of art and hone their connoisseurial skills. Because these exhibitions did not charge admission, nor require viewers to make purchases, they allowed non-elite classes the same opportunity to view art as the nobility who bought works for their collections. Drawing on newspaper announcements, sale inventories, and other primary sources, this paper will examine the role of these exhibitions in the development of taste and visual literacy in St. Petersburg before the mid-nineteenth century.

While there are a variety of approaches to examining the valuation of digital media art, I limit my discussion to its economic valuation within the context of Western capitalist economies.  In this paper, I argue that the dematerialized and reproducible nature of digital media art requires it to have alternative models of economic valuation because the classical model of economic valuation does not effectively value digital media art.  I examine existing economic models of digital media artwork valuation and I explore unique opportunities for alternative and hybrid economic models of digital media artwork valuation.

Art and entrepreneurship, individually, are not new area of investigation, but are far from constituting consolidated topic 'Artrepreneurship', especially in start-up India and Skill India. Despite the perceptible similarities in processes, as they unfold in the business context, the two areas remained ramified in terms of research and in practice as well. Unemployment, especially among the Indian artists, has become exigency of Indian Government and Education System, to focus on 'Artrepreneurship Skill' development among 'Artists'. This research paper sheds light on the present scenario of raising unemployment among Indian Artists, its adverse effect on economy and developing artrepreneurship skills as possible solution. The results of pilot investigation from artists in selected cities of Maharashtra outlines the field of research. Possible other forms of introducing artrepreneurial thinking, behavior, skills in education system with special reference to Skill India is also discussed. The article ends by outlining the areas of further research.

CIGE-2009中艺博国际画廊博览会

China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE), Beijing, China. 2009

Supported by the Ministry of Culture of The People’s Republic of China, the Sixth Edition of the China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE 2009) takes place at the Exhibition Hall of the China World Trade Centre in Beijing in April. Under the artistic direction of Luca Zordan, CIGE 2009 hosts around 80 selected outstanding galleries from over 20 countries, presenting a panorama of cutting edge contemporary art, welcoming and encouraging any form of art expression, including photography, video, painting, sculptures, mixed media,
installations, prints, digital and net art, textile, design…

CIGE is China’s first and most established international art fair, presenting around 84 contemporary art galleries from over 20 countries. In 2009 CIGE strengthens its relations in China, presenting 23 outstanding art galleries from Mainland China and 9 from Taiwan. Solid ties and exclusive networks are established with neighbouring Japan and Korea, which are represented at the art fair respectively with 7 and 12 galleries. South East Asia vibrant contemporary art scene also emerges as great protagonist at CIGE, with the participation of 7 galleries from Indonesia, 2 from the Philippines, 1 from Singapore, and 1 from India. In 2009 CIGE widens its artistic horizons through Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region. For the first time in the history of CIGE participating galleries are from Pakistan (1), Mongolia (1), and Australia (2).

Facing the challenges and changes of the economical and political balance of our multipolar and interdependent world, CIGE would like to position itself as a dynamic and unique platform, open to contemporary artistic creations and visions from all over the world. For the first time in its history, CIGE presents art galleries from all the five continents (Asia, Europe, America, Africa, and Oceania).

CIGE 2009 features art galleries from Europe, Italy (3), Spain (3), Germany (3), England (1), Austria (1), and The United States of America (1), and is delighted to welcome galleries from Latin America (Cuba and Mexico), Middle East (Syria and Israel), and Africa (Kenya). The participation of art galleries from Syria and Kenya marks the first gallery presentation at CIGE of contemporary art from the Arab world and the African continent.

CIGE 2009 continues to focus on contemporary art, encouraging any form of art expression, including photography, video, painting, sculptures, mixed media, installations, prints, textile, design.

Understanding the relevance of technology and globalization on the economic infrastructure of the art world, CIGE 2009 SPECIAL PROJECTS invite galleries, artists, not-for-profit art organizations, museums, institutions, private collection, and visitors to reflect on our contemporary visual culture.

On the Second Floor of the China World Trade Center, MAPPING ASIA presents a selection of solo shows of contemporary artists from Asia. Mapping Asia Solo Projects are evaluated by an international Art Expert Committee of Major Museum Directors and Curators from USA and Europe, which will act as a Jury choosing and announcing the 3 most interesting solo shows in occasion of CIGE 2009 Opening Preview.

CIGE 2009 INTERNATIONAL SOLO SHOWS -also located on the Second Floor of the China World Trade Center- would like to present the works of international artists, who have entered in direct contact with China, valuing the importance of intercultural experience as well as of the capacity of adaptability to the local environment, its bio diversity and cultural richness.

In order to guarantee a display of international artistic quality, CIGE 2009 SUBLIMINALS and VIDEO LOOPS develop collaborations, quality partnerships and strategic alliances with museums, art institutions and cultural centres.

CIGE 2009’s FORUM will be co-host by UCCA, The participants invited to the conference are directors and curators of major American and European museums and art institutions who have deep and long relations with contemporary art in Asia.

The interactions between the art fair and worldwide institutions aim to stimulate dialogue and discussion, giving the cultural centres the opportunity to present their programs of exhibitions, and contributing to enrich cross cultural knowledge in China.

The Segment that resists the art market crisis

The global market of modern and contemporary African art performed strongly in 2016 with a sell-through rate of 72% in a morose context of the international art market and the slowing down of African economies.
This segment proved to be an exception. The huge direct and indirect investments, mainly in western countries as well as new structural initiatives in Africa ranging between US$ 300 million to US$ 400 million in the last five years.
Modern art led the market with a sell-through rate of 76%, and 55% in value of the total amount of sales, reaching US$23.3 million. Bids that exceeded the symbolic threshold of US$1 million rose by 200%, including 50% for modern art and 50% for contemporary art. Strauss & Co, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, is the leading auction house for the total amount of works sold with 31% in value and 57% of lots.
Auction houses based in the African continent counting for 46.1% of the total value, fetching US$19.6 million and 93.2% of lots London held the most important place in the market in 2016, considering the number of operators in our study that organised sales (40% of the total), the number of proposed lots (2.9% of the total) and of sold lots (28.1% and US$11.9 million in the year) and institutional and commercial exhibitions.
The enlargement of the buyers' base in all categories.
In contemporary art, the works sold beyond their high estimates, representing 58% in value, or US$8 million, and 37.9% between their estimates or US$5,7 million with regard to the total number of sales in this category.
Female artists continue to lead this market for the second consecutive year and constitute a very important market share. They represent 60% of the top five most expensive selling lots in all categories and 66.5% in value for this same ranking.
One of the pillars of this segment's improvement is the African diaspora. In this new report, we have decided to scrutinize its contribution, importance and impact because for a long time it has been active in making African art the segment with the biggest growth potential in the art market.

Download the report for free here http://bit.ly/2E2B8RA

Speculating on Old Master paintings during the French Revolution: the Trumbull, Parker and Lebrun partnership
Sarah Bakkali, independent scholar

During troubled times, as it is currently the case with the terrible crisis we are all going through, art has been seen as a kind of safe haven for investors. Of course, this is only true for exceptional pieces with an irreproachable pedigree, for example, old works of sure attribution and prestigious provenance. We propose here to challenge this commonplace idea for the French Revolution period and question how the financial crisis structured the art market.
To do so, we relied on a very well-documented case, the so-called "speculative adventure" of John Trumbull and Daniel Parker. In 1794, John Trumbull, an American painter and son of the Governor of Connecticut, went to France as private secretary of John Jay to negotiate with the British government. As France was at war with the United Kingdom, this severely hindered trade between dealers of both countries and exports. As a citizen coming from a neutral country, son of a governor in close contact with the American delegation based in Paris, Trumbull enjoyed many facilities allowing him to engage in many speculations including that of Old Master paintings. Both of them joined forces with the art dealer Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun to carry out these operations. From the choice of acquisitions to their financing and exportation, they were all meticulously recorded in an account book, today kept at the New York Historical Society Library. Supplemented by personal Trumbull’s archives kept at the Yale University Library as well as his correspondence, we could reconstruct his financial arrangements and draw up his guidelines for making business during the revolutionary turmoil in Paris.
After a presentation of those operations, we will take a closer look at the actors and stakes, and especially the role of Lebrun, on whose connoisseurship the whole financial package was based. Behind, what was at stake was the status of the merchandise: a "safe haven", a “long term

This paper analyzes the art market for the painter Emile Friant. The dataset is available online :
Saint-Raymond, Léa, 2016, "Les ventes aux enchères des oeuvres d'Emile Friant, à Paris, du vivant du peintre", doi:10.7910/DVN/T0NGJ6, Harvard Dataverse, V1

The study is Identify and describe the characteristic features of the art marketplace, determine organizational functions and key stages of the development of international art market. Particular attention payed to the economic and legal aspects, Defined the specific features of the approach to the articles of the Uniform Commercial Code of the United States. In priority shown aspects of legal regulations of the New York General Business Law, which is focused on relationships of art market parties. Established interrelationships between economy and art in a row with the large-scale volumes and forms of the art market. This study additionally raises questions about the pricing of contemporary art in the art market. The article reveals the problems of unregulated art market, the lack of transparency in prices, as well as in transactions. Discussion keep on the issue of circulation of forgeries in the art market, that leads to pay more attention for the authenticity. The article examines trends in the US’s art market, it’s investments potential and contribution to the country’s economy through private and public income, which leads to the leader position at the international arena of art industry.

Os museus, tanto no Brasil quanto no mundo, vêm sendo parte do jogo milionário do mercado de arte, mesmo sendo algo completamente contrário ao que diz o código de ética e demais normas do estatuto. Será que isso é realmente um problema? Arte contemporânea e o posicionamento atual das instituições museológicas são postos em cheque através da análise de diversos especialistas da área. É feito também uma breve análise de um dos mais polêmicos artistas contemporâneos e o seu relacionamento com os museus: Romero Britto.

The impact of the 2008 crisis on the Spanish economy has been very strong and its consequences are still noticeable ten years later, having significantly modified the economic situation and the very structure that supports it. Its impact on cultural industries is seen in the emergence of innovative management models that make it possible to make profitable not only the work of managers, but especially that of creators (Schiuma and Lerro, 2017; Taylor, 2017). Beyond contextualizing the new frameworks applicable at the business level in the cultural field, there is currently a tendency to generate new management strategies that start from the characteristics of cultural organizations and artists and adapt to their needs, resources and development and sustainability goals. Our research analyzes this evolution in the context of the Spanish art market, describing a taxonomy of innovative and resilient business models among art galleries and among artists, which allows them to adapt to the current situation and make their activity economically sustainable.

Léa Saint-Raymond, "Le marché secondaire de l'art. Un "aimant" pour les galeries parisiennes ?" in Hélène Ivanoff et Denise Vernerey-Laplace (dirs.), Les artistes et leurs galeries, Paris-Berlin, 1900-1950, Tome 1 : Paris, Rouen, Presses Universitaires de Rouen et du Havre, 2019, p.35-44.

In this article I argue that the exploitation of poor artists is largely an affair internal to the art world. The exploitation is enabled by a shared art ethos that emphasizes that sacrificing oneself to art is good. All participants in art worlds, including poor artists, together reproduce the ethos, but the profits go to an elite and not to poor and little recognized artists. Examples are presented of how non-profit art institutions de facto exploit poor artists. But change is in the air: increasingly artists now protest against practices of exploitation.

Une histoire globale des avant-gardes picturales se doit d’expliquer pourquoi celles-ci apparurent en certains endroits et pas en d’autres, comment elles circulaient entre les pays et les capitales, ce qui les portait et si elles rompaient réellement avec leur temps, sachant que la plupart finirent par connaître une véritable canonisation.
Les avant-gardes lièrent leur sort au développement des journaux et des revues, c’est-à-dire à celui des techniques d’impression et de reproduction en série. Elles profitèrent également d’un vaste mouvement de circulation des idées, des hommes et des objets avec le développement des réseaux ferrés et des transports maritimes.
Dans le même temps se forgeaient les identités nationales, férues de tradition et de préservation des cultures. L’approche géopolitique met au jour ce processus par lequel les plasticiens novateurs recoururent à la référence étrangère pour s’opposer aux institutions nationales, travaillèrent à internationaliser leurs réputations pour mieux s’imposer contre le refus de l’innovation porté par le nationalisme, ou, au contraire, se laisser récupérer par des partis nationalistes et révolutionnaires.
Mais à côté des stratégies, réseaux et marchés, place est faite à l’analyse du contexte culturel et moral, économique et politique, matériel et social, affectif et spirituel des artistes des avant-gardes à partir de 1848. Jusqu’à la rupture de 1920, quand ces avant-gardes deviennent politiques, plaçant l’avenir de l’art dans celui de la Révolution.

Through looking at the notion of intrinsic motivation, the emergence of Internet Art, its alternative valuation system, and the new Post-Internet Art of today, this short literature review will attempt to set foot in answering the research question: to what extent has the Internet Art movement in the 1990’s affected the valuation practices of contemporary visual artists?

Il presente elaborato si pone l’obiettivo di indagare il tema della diversità culturale e della valorizzazione delle differenze all’interno del mercato dell’arte contemporanea.
Come è ben noto, il concetto di diversità è legato a tutti gli aspetti della vita di un individuo, ma all’interno di questa tesi verranno discusse ed analizzate solo due  delle sue molteplici dimensioni: la provenienza geografica ed il genere.

La prima sezione sarà dedicata ad una recensione della letteratura in materia. Partendo dal concetto generico di diversità e dai suoi sviluppi recenti, mi concentrerò successivamente sulla sua dimensione geografica, spesso considerata indice di diversità culturale. La letteratura in materia è sostanzialmente suddivisa in due correnti. La prima sostiene che il mercato, attraverso i fenomeni di globalizzazione ed internazionalizzazione, abbia ormai assunto l’aspetto di un unico mercato globale in grado di offrire pari opportunità per ogni individuo che voglia parteciparvi; fanno parte di questa corrente di pensiero Waters (2001), Crane (2015) e Yogev ed Ertug (2015).
La seconda scuola di pensiero, in cui si inseriscono i contributi teorici ed empirici di studiosi quali Bourdieu (1999), Velthius (2013) e Quemin (2008; 2013), sostiene invece che il mondo dell’arte sia ancora ampiamente squilibrato in favore di una ristretta minoranza di Paesi prettamente occidentali.
Successivamente, l’attenzione verrà posta sul concetto di diversità di genere, un tema ancora molto spinoso nel mondo della cultura. Anche in questo caso verranno discussi ed analizzati i contributi teorici ed empirici di coloro che sostengono che le donne producano arte sistematicamente inferiore in termini di qualità rispetto alla controparte maschile (Cowen, 1996; Thorton, 2008) e che, per esempio, per questa ragione esse riescano raramente a raggiungere elevati prezzi di aggiudicazione d’asta. A queste teorie verranno contrapposti studi teorici ed empirici che tentano di dimostrare che la sottorappresentanza del genere femminile sia spesso motivata da pregiudizi ed istanze storiche e sociali, piuttosto che da differenze biologiche.

La mia domanda di ricerca consiste nel dimostrare se all’interno di una delle fiere internazionali d’arte contemporanea più longeve e celebri della storia, Art Basel, sia stato effettivamente raggiunto un grado di diversità tale per cui uomini e donne ed artisti e galleristi provenienti da ogni regione del mondo godano delle medesime opportunità e visibilità all’interno del mercato.

La seconda sezione, infatti, consiste nella mia elaborazione dei dati raccolti dal sito ufficiale di Art Basel ed integrati con ulteriori informazioni reperite in rete riguardanti gli artisti e le gallerie presenti all’edizione 2018 di Basilea. Verrà posta particolare attenzione sulla distribuzione geografica degli artisti e delle gallerie che li rappresentano, nonché sul processo di internazionalizzazione di queste ultime, e sulla distribuzione di genere tra artisti e galleristi. Partendo dai dati raccolti, è stata poi svolta un’analisi incrociata dei risultati ottenuti al fine di valutare il grado di inclusione e diversità all’interno della più rinomata fiera internazionale di arte contemporanea.

A Sociedade Promotora das Belas-Artes em Portugal promoveu, entre os anos de 1862 e 1887, catorze exposições. Consequentemente, interessou-nos averiguar a importância destes certames para o desenvolvimento do então incipiente mercado primário de arte moderna. Neste âmbito, recorremos, essencialmente, a catálogos, estatutos, regulamentos, relatórios/contas e periódicos. O registo, organização e análise de quase duas mil obras de pintura expostas nestes palcos e um especial enfoque nas extracções de loteria e vendas promovidas nestas mostras, revelará o pioneirismo e impacte desta instituição na dinamização da economia artística nacional.

Aukcje młodej sztuki istnieją na polskim rynku sztuki od 2008 roku. Pomimo dekady ich funkcjonowania i rosnącej popularności wśród kolekcjonerów nie zostały one dotąd zanalizowane krytycznie. W niniejszej pracy fenomen aukcji młodej sztuki został zanalizowany poprzez teorię pola sztuki Pierre’a Bourdieu. Badaniu zostały poddane habitusy kolekcjonerów i uczestników, historia i strategie podmiotów organizujących tego typu aukcje oraz geneza samego pojęcia młodej sztuki w polskim polu sztuki. W ten sposób zostało określone miejsce tego typu aukcji jako części subpola produkcji na wielką skalę, obdarzonego niskim kapitałem symbolicznym – ze względu na jawną komercyjność przedsięwzięcia, jak i dominację klasy średniej wśród kolekcjonerów.

When, in November 2018, David Hockneys “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with two figures)” is auctioned at Christies, it is likely to reach a world-record price for a work by a living artist. Why such artwork is usually sold using the “English auction” method (as opposed – for example – to some form of “sealed bid” auction)?

This anthology  draws together a multidisciplinary array of writings on Western art markets, from the 14th century into the global era.
The introductory chapter introduces the mechanisms of markets and looks at specific anomalies of art’s primary and secondary (auction) markets.
Excerpts in Chapters 2 and 3 explore the complex problem of how value is assigned to works of art. This theoretical groundwork is intended to help readers track key issues through Chapters 4 through 12, which are organized according to the chronological sequence of dominant cities in the Western European world-economy, in alignment with eminent French historian Fernand Braudel’s account of the history of capitalism.
....................................................................................................................................................

Reviews:

Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/claytonpress/2017/12/25/a-history-of-the-western-art-market-by-titia-hulst-a-review/#760050d51eac
Arlis:
https://www.arlisna.org/publications/reviews/1376-a-history-of-the-western-art-market-a-sourcebook-of-writings-on-artists-dealers-and-markets
London Review of Books, vol. 40, no. 9 - 10 May 2018

The paper addresses the issue of digitalization of the contemporary art market. It analyzes key features of today’s online art market and discusses three technological innovations—cryptocurrency, blockchain, and artificial intelligence—that have the potential to contribute to the further development and growth of online art trade. The paper demonstrates that whereas cyberspace attracts new talent and great business ideas intended to make global art commerce more versatile and efficient, online art market players alongside with providers of online art market data and analytics offer interesting avenues of future research in this sector.