While there are no significant investment characteristics that inhibit art from being considered as an asset, a major hurdle has long been the lack of a systematic measure of its financial performance. Due to its heterogeneity (each piece is different) and its infrequency of trading (the exact...

We provide evidence for the behavioral biases of anchoring and loss aversion in paintings sold at auction. We find that anchoring is more important for items that are resold quickly, and that the effect of loss aversion increases with the time that a painting is held. This evidence contributes...

For centuries, wealthy individuals and institutions have collected and consumed art for aesthetic pleasure. While anecdotal evidence suggests that some artworks have appreciated in value over time, few studies have documented investment returns in art systematically. In this article, we...

Most high-net-worth individuals hold a portion of wealth in residential real estate and some collecting category. Art is the predominate collecting category of high-net-worth individuals, and this paper investigates the general effects of incorporating art as well as the particular effects of...

This paper employs a new data set from art auctions to examine the relationship between auctioneer presale price estimates and the long-term performance of artworks. While auction houses typically made no price estimates before 1973, they started providing high- and low-price estimates for all...

This paper constructs a new data set from art auctions that include auctioneer presale price estimates to examine the credulity of art investors. While auction houses typically made no price estimates before 1973, they start providing high- and low- price estimates for all artworks thereafter....