Art Value and Valuation

Conducted with the guidance of a comparative literature PhD candidate at Yale, my research takes a transhistorical look at the drivers of art value and subsequent valuation. The paper starts with the Renaissance period, at which point artists were viewed as contractors for hire, intermediate periods when the artist himself became more prominent, and contemporary art movements that are driven by hype and media as much as intrinsic craftsmanship. The research is based on literature review of art theorists such as Baxandall, Etro, Vasari, Greenberg and Ngai. It also combines primary research of Sotheby's auction records, interviews of art dealers, review of relevant films, and visits to museums for close readings of specific. The thesis is that value has evolved in a way that has untethered from the level of the artist’s craftsmanship and has become more attached to the level of buzz the artist is able to generate around their work.