THE contemporary

INTRODUCTION
Contemporary art requires a different approach
from Modern or Impressionist art.
History has taught us there is no fixed relationship
between the price of artworks at any given moment
and their future value: the classic example being
the Impressionists whose works were the least valued
on the market of their epoch, with Paul Gauguin
suffering a number of embarrassing commercial
failures before becoming one of the most expensive
artists in the world 1 .
Today, Contemporary art is being acquired by
an increasing population of amateur buyers, art
professionals and institutions all over the planet.
In financial terms, the Contemporary art segment
is posting attractive returns for investors and has
become a key area for international rivalry with
the development of the museum industry. Between
2000 and 2014, more museums opened around the
world than during the entire 19th and 20th centuries,
and the movement is continuing with more
than 700 new museums a year… The museum
industry naturally has a strong appetite for important
art works and has thus become an international
economic fact in the 21st Century and one of
the primary drivers of the art market’s spectacular
growth.
Since the second half of the 20th century, the
1) On 5 February 2015, The New York Times announced that
Paul Gauguin’s painting Nafea faa ipoipo was sold privately
for approximately $300,000.
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