Price Determinants on the Secondary Art Market: A Mixed-Method Approach to Improved Estimation at International Fine Art Auctions

In 2018, the turnover of the global art market amounted for $67,4 billion (McAndrew, 2019, n.p.). With new records being obtained for works of art at international auction houses over and again, auctions are considered a central pricing mechanism in the capitalized global art industry (Ashenfelter & Graddy, 2003, p. 764). In 2017, the painting «Salvator Mundi» by Da Vinci was sold at Christie’s New York for $450 million – the highest price ever obtained at an art auction worldwide (Mafi, 2017, n.p.). Such prices put the financial value of art in the center of the public discourse. They raise questions regarding the factors that in fact influence such prices. More than that, they challenge the role of marketing in the price formation process.