The Iconic Boom in Modern Russian Art
26 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2021
There are 2 versions of this paper
The Iconic Boom in Modern Russian Art
The Iconic Boom in Modern Russian Art
Date Written: October 7, 2021
Abstract
Motivated by the fast growth of personal wealth in emerging economies such as Russia, the authors investigate the investment performance of modern Russian art. A hedonic analysis of more than 50,000 art transactions results in a geometric average return of 3.97% in real US$ terms between 1967 and 2007. The authors’ Russian art index shows an impressive annualized return of 12.37% since 1997, roughly double the average yearly appreciation of a global art market index over the same period. Art from the 19th century has particularly performed well. The returns on Russian art correlate positively with the returns on global equities, gold, and (especially) London real estate, and seem to be affected by trends in oil prices more than global art prices. The authors’ results illustrate how the new wealth created in fast-developing economies has an impact on the demand for art from these countries, which reflects a home bias in taste.
Keywords: art market, auctions, pricing art, hedonic model, economics of art, cultural economics
JEL Classification: Z1, Z11, G11, G12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation