Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Greek Art in Primary and Secondary Markets: Some Observations

The collocation “Greek Art” in museum language and in the secondary market usually refers to antiquity and, less frequently, to byzantine art. But is there a market for more recent Greek art creations? On what basis is this market organized and to which public does it appeal? Historically seen, galleries in Greece specialized in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Greek production have operated since the 1930s and flourished after the 1950s, particularly in the 1980s, since Greece joined the European Community. It was at that time that a rather “stable” regional art market developed, in order to promote local artists. Modern and Contemporary Greek Art was a new, unexplored and profitable area for the world art market and, in the 1990s, well-established international auction houses began selling Greek artworks more consistently. What is the state-of-the-art in the Greek art market? Are there differences between the secondary market inside and outside Greece's national borders? How can these differences be explained? This paper aims at presenting the difficulties and peculiarities of an as yet underdeveloped and, at a high degree, idiosyncratic market.