The $12 Million Stuffed Shark by Don Thompson

The $12 Million Stuffed Shark by Don Thompson

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Summary

* The Tipping Point or Freakonomics for the art world. * Will appeal to anyone interested in art, but also for anyone who has wondered 'yes, but, is it art?' * The first book to look at the economics and marketing strategies which power the contemporary art market

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The $12 Million Stuffed Shark by Don Thompson

Why would a very smart New York investment banker pay twelve million dollars for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock's drip painting No.5 1948 sell for $140 million? And why does a leather jacket with silver chain attached, tossed in a corner and titled 'No One Ever Leaves', bring $690,000 at a 2007 Sotheby's auction? The Twelve Million Dollar Stuffed Shark is the first book to look at the economics of the modern art world and the marketing strategies which power the market to produce such astronomical prices. Don Thompson talks to auction houses, dealers, and collectors to find out the source of Charles Saatchi's Midas touch, and how far a gallery like White Cube has contributed to Damien Hirst becoming the highest-earning artist in the world. He unravels the Byzantine sale procedures by which the top auction houses maintain both premium prices for what they sell and their own pre-eminence, but also shows us a market whose most spectacular excesses are driven just as often by far simpler human urges like lust and self-aggrandizement. It is a world in which brand is all-important, and which in many ways has most in common with the branded world of luxury fashion. The result is a fascinating, shrewd and highly readable insight into a modern-day phenomenon. Don Thompson is an economist and professor of business specialising in art. He has taught at the London School of Economics and the Harvard Business School. This is his first trade book. He lives in London and Toronto.
Don Thompson is an economist and professor of business specialising in art. He has taught at the London School of Economics and the Harvard Business School. This is his first trade book. He lives in London and Toronto.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781845133023
ISBN 10 1845133021
Title The $12 Million Stuffed Shark
Author Don Thompson
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Quarto Publishing PLC
Year published 2008-01-25
Number of pages 304
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note Unavailable