A Collector's Bibliography #2

A Collector's Bibliography #2 

The following is a selection of works published this year to better understand the art market and answer questions collectors may have.

The Art Collector's Handbook: A Guide to Collection Management and Care
by Mary Rozell, Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd, New edition March 2014, 232 pages.

Very complete and documented, supported by advice from several expert's, this book by Mary Rozell explains how to manage and maintain an art collection. Divided into five parts, it tackles above all the problems encountered in the acquisition of works, in their maintenance (insurance, transport, installation and storage, conservation…) and their cession, regardless of the circumstances. An invaluable guide. More information on the editor's site.

• The Supermodel and the Brillo Box: Back Stories and Peculiar Economics from the World of Contemporary Art

by Don Thompson, Palgrave Macmillan, May 2014, 288 pages.

This book by Don Thompson - economist, university professor and renowned analyst of the art market - focusses on the strategies put in place by the dealers and the auction houses to overcome the 2008 crash. It questions in particular the domination of Christie's and Sotheby's, the increase of museums from Abu Dhabi to Beijing and… the growing importance of the online art market. More information on the editor's site.

• Big Bucks: The Explosion of the Art Market in the 21st Century

by Georgina Adam, Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd, June 2014, 208 pages.

Very familiar to the readers of the Financial Times, Georgina Adam is a journalist specializing in the art market. Here she signs a documented study on the transformation of this market into a globalised operation worth an estimated $50 billion a year! Her book details the role played by each of the actors in this change (auction houses, dealers, artists, people of influence) as well as its main stages: the explosion of art fairs, the phenomenon of the 'branded' artist and the 'new frontier' of selling art on the internet. More information on the editor's site.

• Art as an Investment?

by Melanie Gerlis, Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd, March 2014, 192 pages.

Those who consider art as an investment medium will appreciate this guide which explains art's value as an asset through comparisons with more familiar investments, including property, shares and gold. Result: the book discredits the idea of art's capacity to generate returns that outweigh its risks… despite the astonishing figures from certain sales that leave one gawking, profusely reported by the media. Its author, Melanie Gerlis, is the Art Market editor of The Art Newspaper. More information on the editor's site.

• Risk and Uncertainty in the Art World

by Anna M. Dempster, A&C Black, April 2014, 304 pages.

The result of the growing popularity of art as a vehicle for investment, its market is at present facing the same problems and analyses as other sectors of the economy. This collection of essays, derived from a conference held in 2011 at Sotheby's Institute of Art in London, focusses on the way the art market addresses the subject of risk and uncertainty. More information on the editor's site.

Help us to keep this bibliography up to date by sending in references of publications that deserve a mention. Thank you.

Check out our Collector's Bibliography #1.