| Description |
xii, 264 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Series |
Princeton studies in cultural sociology |
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Princeton studies in cultural sociology.
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| Contents |
Ch. 1. The architecture of the art market -- Ch. 2. Exchanging meaning -- Ch. 3. Promoters versus parasites -- Ch. 4. Determinants of prices -- Ch. 5. The art of pricing -- Ch. 6. Stories of prices -- Ch. 7. Symbolic meanings of prices -- Ch. 8. Conclusion |
| Summary |
"How do dealers price contemporary art in a world where objective criteria seem absent? Talking Prices is the first book to examine this question from a sociological perspective. On the basis of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative data, including interviews with dozens of art dealers in New York and Amsterdam, Olav Velthuis shows how contemporary art galleries juggle the contradictory logic of art and economics. In doing so, they rely on a highly ritualized business repertoire. For instance, a sharp distinction between a gallery's museumlike front space and its businesslike back space safeguards the separation of art from commerce." |
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"As for how prices are set, Velthuis shows that prices, far from being abstract numbers, convey rich meanings to trading partners that extend well beyond the works of art themselves. A high price may indicate not only the quality of a work but also the identity of collectors who bought it before the artist's reputation was established. Such meanings are far from unequivocal. For some, a high price may be a symbol of status; for others, it is a symbol of fraud."--BOOK JACKET |
| Notes |
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.--Erasmus University, Rotterdam) |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Prices -- New York (State) -- New York.
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Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Prices -- Netherlands -- Amsterdam.
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Pricing -- Social aspects -- New York (State) -- New York.
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Pricing -- Social aspects -- Netherlands -- Amsterdam.
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Art dealers -- Psychology.
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| LC no. |
2004051062 |
| ISBN |
0691121664 cloth alkaline paper |
|
0691121664 hardback |
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0691121664 hardback alkaline paper |
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