Market evidence · 7 min read
What Art-Market Totals Do—and Do Not—Tell You
Global sales totals are useful for understanding direction and composition. They are not a price guide for an individual artwork.
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Articles by Arushi.
Pricing language · 5 min read
Asking Price, Auction Result and Fair Value Are Not Synonyms
Three numbers can describe the same work and answer entirely different questions.
Read the analysisMarket routes · 6 min read
Primary vs. Secondary Market, in Plain Language
Primary and secondary describe where a work is being sold, not whether it is better. Each market has different dynamics around access, pricing, transparency and availability.
Read the analysisPricing language · 7 min read
How Art Advisors Are Paid: Fee Models and What Collectors Should Expect
The three common fee structures, what each one means in practice, and how to evaluate which structure fits a given engagement.
Read the analysisCollection strategy · 7 min read
Deaccession: A Collector's Guide to Selling Art from the Collection
When to sell, how to value, where to sell, and what the operational and reputational considerations are for a private collector considering a sale.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 8 min read
The Art Market in 2026: A Mid-Year Read on Where the Cycle Is
Where the U.S. and global art markets are in 2026, what the data says about the cycle, and what collectors and advisors are watching through the rest of the year.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 8 min read
Does Art Staging Shorten Days on Market? Reading the Evidence
Staging claims travel faster than the data behind them. Here is what the public research supports, what it does not, and how to judge the numbers in a listing pitch.
Read the analysisMarket context · 7 min read
Staging Trends Shaping the Ultra-Luxury Market in 2026
What has actually changed in how significant homes are presented — and which of the changes are durable rather than seasonal.
Read the analysisMarket routes · 8 min read
Beyond the Auction House: How Serious Collectors Buy Now
Public auction is the most visible part of the market and a minority of the money. A plain account of where significant works actually change hands.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 8 min read
What an Artist Price Index Can and Cannot Tell You
Indices turn thousands of unlike objects into one line on a chart. Useful for direction, misleading for any specific work — and the construction choices matter.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 7 min read
Reading a Bought-In Lot: What an Unsold Work Signals
Works that fail to sell are removed from most market narratives, which is precisely why they are worth reading. What a bought-in lot does and does not prove.
Read the analysisPricing language · 6 min read
What 'Price Realised' Means at Auction: Hammer, Premium and Fees
Price realised is not the hammer price. What a published auction result includes, what it leaves out, and why results rarely compare.
Read the analysisPricing language · 6 min read
How Much Do Art Advisors Make? How Advisory Income Works
A career-side view of advisory income: how advisors are paid, why earnings vary so widely, and why published salary figures tend to mislead.
Read the analysisPricing language · 6 min read
Auction Catalogue Terms: 'Attributed To', 'Circle Of' and a/f
What 'attributed to', 'circle of' and a/f mean in an auction catalogue, how attribution language moves price, and why the glossary governs.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 6 min read
What Is the Art Market? How It Actually Works
The art market is many connected markets. How galleries, dealers, auction houses and fairs fit together, and why so little of it is visible.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 6 min read
Art Market Research: Which Data Sources to Trust
Auction databases, annual reports, surveys, indices and press each measure something different. How to judge what a source can support.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 6 min read
Auction Guarantees and Irrevocable Bids Explained
Guarantees and irrevocable bids fix part of an auction outcome in advance. What they are, how they are disclosed, and what a result proves.
Read the analysisPricing language · 6 min read
How Auction Estimates Are Set
Auction estimates blend comparables, specialist judgement and consignor negotiation. How the range is built and how to read it.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 6 min read
Exchange Rates and Art Prices
Art sells in one currency to buyers holding another. How exchange rates shift bidding and conversion, and where price comparisons mislead.
Read the analysisMarket context · 6 min read
Why the Biggest Auctions Cluster in Spring and Autumn
Major auctions cluster in spring and autumn for practical reasons. Why the calendar exists and how it shapes the evidence it creates.
Read the analysisMarket evidence · 6 min read
Reading an Auction House's Annual Results
An auction house's annual total is a curated number. What it includes, what it leaves out, and how to read one house's results critically.
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