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THE ELECTRONIC ART MARKET: BUYING AND SELLING ART OVER THE WEB
Introduction:
The buying and selling of art typically conjures up images of an auction house, a gallery, or some other traditional brick and mortar means of transacting business. The traditional methods do indeed dominate the art market. Despite the recession, worldwide auction sales of art amount to a staggering $80 billion (Skates 3). Of this amount, $10 billion is sold by way of auction - three times the amount sold in 2000 (Artprice 7). Needless to say, in terms of dollars, the art market is big. Even bigger is the total sales made through the Internet. The U.S. Commerce Department said that in 2010 alone, online shoppers electronically purchased over $160 billion worth of goods. While there is no specific published data on the monetary value of art sales transacted online, it comes as no surprise that a lot of people are buying and selling art by "point and click" over the internet. While transacting art online has had its ups and downs, and is not without concerns, such as authenticity, it nonetheless remains a major dynamic of the art market. In this wiki page, I will detail and analyze the business of buying and selling art on line. I will also discuss the concern over authenticity (fakes / forgeries) that is often prevalent in the art world, particularly when it comes to buying artwork online. An analysis of the tangible aspect of art and how that affects an on-line purchase will also be made. Finally, I will conclude this wiki by discussing and offering an answer as to whether the Internet will replace the more traditional methods of buying and selling art, with particular reference to the two major auction houses.
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Goodman, Calvin. "The 'Net Value of the Art Market." American Artist. Volume 66, Issue 714 (2002)
Thornton, Sarah. Seven Days in the Art World. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print.
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