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Credibility and Economic Value in the Visual Arts

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  • Holger Bonus
  • Dieter Ronte

Abstract

The paper states that the quality of visual arts cannot be measured objectively. An artist must be credible to the public in order to generate economic value. How is credibility and thus economic value generated on the market? To judge the quality of arts, it takes experts. They form a worldwide network relationship and apply cultural knowledge, a highly specific type of knowledge which requires lifelong learning. Cultural knowledge is only in part of a factual nature and includes subjective elements. Since the public cannot in general ascertain the quality of an artist's oeuvre directly, experts must themselves be credible to the public in order to lend credibility to a given oeuvre. It is shown that the process by which experts generate public credibility for a given oeuvre is path dependent, i.e., may by chance end up at inferior solutions. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1997

Suggested Citation

  • Holger Bonus & Dieter Ronte, 1997. "Credibility and Economic Value in the Visual Arts," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 21(2), pages 103-118, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jculte:v:21:y:1997:i:2:p:103-118
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1007338319088
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    Cited by:

    1. Michel Clement & Anke Lepthien & Tim Schulze, 2016. "Erfolgsfaktoren bei der Vermarktung von Kunst [Success Factors for Marketing of Arts]," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 68(4), pages 377-400, December.
    2. Francesco Angelini & Massimiliano Castellani, 2019. "Cultural and economic value: a critical review," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 43(2), pages 173-188, June.
    3. Nela Filimon & Jordi López-Sintas & Carlos Padrós-Reig, 2011. "A test of Rosen’s and Adler’s theories of superstars," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 35(2), pages 137-161, May.
    4. Susanne Schönfeld & Andreas Reinstaller, 2007. "The effects of gallery and artist reputation on prices in the primary market for art: a note," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 31(2), pages 143-153, June.
    5. Victor Ginsburgh & Jianping Mei & Michael Moses, 2006. "On the computation of art indices in art," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/7290, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    6. Nandini Srivastava & Stephen Satchell, 2012. "Are There Bubbles in the Art Market? The Detection of Bubbles when Fair Value is Unobservable," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 1209, Birkbeck, Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics.
    7. Michael Rushton, 2000. "Public Funding of Controversial Art," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 24(4), pages 267-282, November.
    8. Anne-Sophie Radermecker, 2019. "Artworks without names: an insight into the market for anonymous paintings," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/296529, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    9. Susanne Schönfeld & Andreas Reinstaller, 2005. "The effects of gallery and artist reputation on prices in the primary market for art," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp090, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    10. Brunella Bruno & Emilia Garcia‐Appendini & Giacomo Nocera, 2018. "Experience and Brokerage in Asset Markets: Evidence from Art Auctions," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 47(4), pages 833-864, December.
    11. Liao, Wen-Chi & Jing, Kecen & Lee, Chaun Ying Rachel, 2022. "Economic return of architecture awards: Testing homebuyers’ motives for paying more," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    12. Angelini, Francesco & Castellani, Massimiliano, 2022. "Price and information disclosure in the private art market: A signalling game," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 14-20.
    13. Michael Hutter & Christian Knebel & Gunnar Pietzner & Maren Schäfer, 2007. "Two games in town: a comparison of dealer and auction prices in contemporary visual arts markets," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 31(4), pages 247-261, December.
    14. Giovanni Colavizza, 2022. "Seller-buyer networks in NFT art are driven by preferential ties," Papers 2210.04339, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2022.
    15. Prieto-Rodriguez, Juan & Vecco, Marilena, 2021. "Reading between the lines in the art market: Lack of transparency and price heterogeneity as an indicator of multiple equilibria," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    16. Fikret Korhan Turan & Zeynep Tosun, 2023. "Sustainable development of art industry and a statistical analysis of the factors that influence the gallery prices of contemporary artworks," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1790-1804, June.
    17. Anne-Sophie V. E. Radermecker, 2019. "Artworks without names: an insight into the market for anonymous paintings," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 43(3), pages 443-483, September.
    18. Velthuis, Olav, 2004. "Exchaning meanings on the market for contemporary art," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 5(3), pages 17-27.
    19. Francesco Angelini & Massimiliano Castellani & Lorenzo Zirulia, 2022. "Overconfidence in the art market: a bargaining pricing model with asymmetric disinformation," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(3), pages 961-988, October.
    20. Michael Hutter, 1998. "Communication Productivity: A Major Cause for the Changing Output of Art Museums," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 22(2), pages 99-112, June.
    21. Chiara Dalle Nogare & Monika Murzyn-Kupisz, 2021. "Do museums foster innovation through engagement with the cultural and creative industries?," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 45(4), pages 671-704, December.
    22. Merijn Rengers & Olav Velthuis, 2002. "Determinants of Prices for Contemporary Art in Dutch Galleries, 1992–1998," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 26(1), pages 1-28, February.
    23. Ziche, J. & Jositz-Pritscher, I., 1999. "Das Verhältnis von Information, Wissen und Meinungen - dargestellt an der Akzeptanz unterschiedlicher landwirtschaftlicher Nutzungsformen bei nichtlandwirtschaftlicher Bevölkerung," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 35.
    24. Erwin Dekker, 2015. "Two approaches to study the value of art and culture, and the emergence of a third," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 39(4), pages 309-326, November.
    25. Jagoda Adamus, 2023. "How Much Are Public Spaces Worth? Non-Market Valuation Methods in Valuing Public Spaces," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 66-89.

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