A Study Of The British Art Market In The Victorian Period

The Victorian British Empire dominated the whole world,while the art market in England also entered its Golden Era and took its modern form.It was during this period that professional dealers,institutions and artist societies,commercial art galleries,and auctions houses all came into the scene and changed the art market,along with the increasing global transactions and the commoditization of paintings.This paper focuses on the study of the art market in Victorian England,and presents the history of the ebbs and flows of the market for almost a century.Through exploring the reasons of its prosperity and the role of different elements based on case study,this paper tries to find out the basic laws of the art market,and hopes to propose some references for the development of the art market in our country.The first chapter of this essay introduces the background,focusing on the changes of economy and social structures.The second chapter is the emphasis of this paper,which presents the prosperity of the market and discusses the activities of artists,dealer,exhibitions and auction houses.The third chapter provides reasons for the downfall of the British art market.Finally,the last chapter provides some suggestions for Chinese art market from the experience of that in Victorian England.