An insightful read on the economics particularly of the top end of the the Art World. Written over the past few years, the author highlights the role of Auction Houses, (particularly Christies and Sotheby's) Art Dealers, Collectors, Museums, Artists and the public and their role in the pricing of Art. A must read for any aspiring Artist, it provides a harsh reality check on what REALLY sells and why... At the first page I thought I definitely would totally hate this book. Turns out, it was pretty good. I didn't give the author enough credit for knowing his stuff on the art side. About halfway through, though, I figured it out - it didn't matter. The whole point of the thing is that the aesthetics don't matter. Thompson does a pretty great job at not using a lot of jargon (when he does he makes sure you get it in an impressively un-condescending way). This book is good - it sorts out a lot of junk in a very readable way.
Quite a prose disaster ... and, now, given the art market downturn, hopelessly out of date.
—Deyanna
Excelent book to give you an insight of today's contemporary art world!
—emmajstanley
Great book explaining the ins and outs of the contemporary art market.
—mar
dry but a good overview of the current art world for a newcomer.
—shreyas
Great book! Pulled me in!
—LadyTL
