[masona]

In the art world it's a pretty straightforward formula: -Buy out the estate of a 3rd tier artist who once drank a beer with a famous artist -Created slick marketing materials written by an art critic who was paid a lot of money to hold their nose -Place several key pieces up for auction and an accomplice buys them at inflated prices -Market is cornered, established prices are high, nothing left to do but sell to buyers who are too lazy to form a critical opinion and who instead rely on the manufactured signals from steps 1, 2 and 3. -Once all the best pieces are picked through you still have a bunch of inflated junk that you can use as collateral for other nefarious schemes. Source: worked in a gallery for many years.

[pradn]

And, for the 'art investor', as long as other collectors don't sell for a lower price, it doesn't even matter. Many galleries will blacklist collectors who sell for lower prices. As long as there's someone to buy, you're fine.

[mleonhard]

Is it legal to exclude someone from a public auction?

And couldn't the person just hire someone to buy for them?

[pradn]

Most art sales don't happen through public auction. If you want to invest in more art, you'll have to go through galleries, which may choose whether or not to sell to you. And word does get around about who is bringing down the price of an artist.

[smsm42]

The famous "bigger idiot" theory, so much in the economy depends on it, apparently.

[spoonjim]

This reads so spot on. Can you give some examples of recent artists who have had hype Manufactured for them in this manner?