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.
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Market 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.
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Pricing 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.
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Collection 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Pricing language · 6 min read
What 'Price Realised' Means at Auction: Hammer, Premium and Fees
Price realized (or realised) is not the hammer price. What a published auction result includes, what it leaves out, and why results rarely compare.
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Pricing 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.
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Pricing 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Pricing 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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.
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Market 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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Market Analysis · 8 min read
The 2026 Auction Rebound, Explained
Why auction sales rebounded in H1 2026, what the record covers, and what collectors should know about concentration and an uneven recovery today.
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Market Analysis · 8 min read
A K-Shaped Art Market: Why Recovery Is Uneven
What a K-shaped art market means for collectors and readers, why headline auction growth hides uneven performance, and how to read sales estimates.
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Market Analysis · 8 min read
Ultra-Contemporary Art Prices Since 2021
One analysis puts ultra-contemporary auction prices about 72% below their 2021 peak. Collectors can see what the estimate says and what it cannot show.
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