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Revisiting Harrison and Cynthia White’s Academic vs. Dealer-Critic System

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  • Léa Saint-Raymond

    (ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres)

Abstract

The field of art market studies is based on a famous opposition, coined by Harrison and Cynthia White in 1965, regarding the "academic" system, as opposed to the "dealer-critic" one. Published in 1965, their book, Canvases and Careers, Institutional Change in the French Painting World, was qualified by Patricia Mainardi and Pierre Vaisse, but their criticism dated back to the 1990s. In the meantime, the development of digital methods makes possible a broader reassessment of Harrison and Cynthia White's theory. Based on a corpus of Parisian auction sales, from 1831 through 1925, this paper uses econometrics to call into question the antagonism between the academic and the dealer-critic system, and comes to another conclusion: the academic system was crucial to determine the value of artworks and its efficiency did not collapse in the 1870s, nor in the 1880s, but rather after the Great War.

Suggested Citation

  • Léa Saint-Raymond, 2019. "Revisiting Harrison and Cynthia White’s Academic vs. Dealer-Critic System," Post-Print hal-02986357, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02986357
    DOI: 10.3390/arts8030096
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-02986357
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    1. repec:ulb:ulbeco:2013/226295 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Jianping Mei & Michael Moses, 2002. "Art as an Investment and the Underperformance of Masterpieces," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1656-1668, December.
    3. Orley Ashenfelter & Kathryn Graddy, 2003. "Auctions and the Price of Art," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(3), pages 763-787, September.
    4. David W. Galenson & Robert Jensen, 2002. "Careers and Canvases: The Rise of the Market for Modern Art in the Nineteenth Century," NBER Working Papers 9123, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Léa Saint-Raymond, 2021. "Measuring the Efficiency of a Local Cultural Policy: the Toulouse Salons (1885-1939)," Post-Print hal-03265468, HAL.

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    Keywords

    art market; Salon; econometrics; Harrison and Cynthia White; academic system; dealer-critic system;
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