We study price determinants and investment performance of art based on a vast sample of transactions around the world over the past 60 years. Art has appreciated at a real (nominal) annual return of 2.49% (6.24%). Higher art returns are reached for paintings at high-end of the price...

While trust is the cornerstone in the functioning of any market, it is of particular importance in the markets that are unregulated, illiquid, and opaque, such as the art market. We therefore examine the role of authenticity, as captured by the provenance information, on the sales probability of...

Art is often presented as an investment of last resort or a potential safe haven in times of political or financial distress. Yet, as no study has focused on the performance of art markets in times of crisis, this paper fills this gap by means of unclosing historical auction archives. We trace...