A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Market for Contemporary Fine Art

Abstract

The economic behavior of artists, dealers, and collectors in the local (not the high‐end, elite New York hegemonic center) market for contemporary fine art is discussed. Seemingly bizarre behavior such as an artist giving a dealer a share of the sale of an art object the latter has never handled to a buyer the dealer has never seen is analyzed with reference to identity, economic rationality, and consumer risk.