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Art dealers’ inventory strategy: the case of Goupil, Boussod & Valadon from 1860 to 1914

Author

Listed:
  • Geraldine David
  • Christian Huemer
  • Kim Oosterlinck

Abstract

Proper inventory management is crucial for art galleries. Yet, despite its importance, inventory management has been overlooked in the literature. We distinguish four main strategies used by art dealers to manage their inventory and use this classification to set the inventory strategy of Goupil, Boussod & Valadon, a major art gallery active in France at the end of the 19th century, into perspective. Goupil’s books cover the sale of more than 25,000 artworks between 1860 and 1914. Rapidity to sell was a key element in Goupil’s strategy. Out of the sold artworks, almost 75% were sold within a year. Goupil required a slightly higher mark-up for artists from which he held a large inventory. Mark-up for artists in residence and the likelihood to sell their artworks at a loss were lower, signaling a preoccupation for their long-term market.

Suggested Citation

  • Geraldine David & Christian Huemer & Kim Oosterlinck, 2023. "Art dealers’ inventory strategy: the case of Goupil, Boussod & Valadon from 1860 to 1914," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 65(1), pages 24-55, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:65:y:2023:i:1:p:24-55
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2020.1832083
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    Cited by:

    1. Robert Jensen, 2023. "The rise and fall and rise again of the contemporary art market," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(3), pages 461-488, September.
    2. Anne-Sophie Radermecker & Koenraad Brosens, 2023. "Valuing European tapestry: from riches to rags," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/371370, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Anne-Sophie V. Radermecker, 2022. "Elisabetta Lazzaro, Nathalie Moureau, Adriana Turpin (Eds): Researching art markets. Past, present and tools for the future Routledge (Routledge Research in the Creative and Cultural Industries), Oxon, 2021," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 46(1), pages 199-203, March.
    4. Anne-Sophie V. Radermecker & Koenraad Brosens, 2023. "Valuing European tapestry: from riches to rags," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(3), pages 359-406, September.
    5. Simon Kelly, 2023. "How Monet became a millionaire: the importance of the artist’s account books," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 47(3), pages 437-460, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N44 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Europe: 1913-
    • Z11 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economics of the Arts and Literature

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