In All Its Madness: The Contemporary Art Market

When asked about the contemporary art market, we usually only remark on its seemingly inexhaustible capitalist engine driving art prices up further and further. However, while some artists like Richter and Warhol have been able to do extremely well, other artists of equal renown have been unable to garner nearly the same kind of market respect. In many cases, the prices for these artists have been depreciating. An article in today's New York Times investigates these peculiarities. It comes along with a useful graphic.

Andy Warhol's Self Portrait, 1963. It was recently sold at Christie's for over $38 million, the most ever for a painting.