Previous edition: 2012.

Includes bibliographical references and index

Introduction: the Three Graces
Thalia : the commercial value of art. What determines the commercial value of art? ; What makes a specific work of art valuable? ; Art and finance ; Is there a measurable art market? ; Art indexes ; Buying art is an art, not a business ; Art appraisals : purpose and method
Euphrosyne : the social value of art. First encounters ; Family, legacies, and the personal museum ; Immortality in an auction catalogue ; Artists, dead or alive? ; Showing off at home ; You don't have to be rich ; Free art for all ; Art, class, society ; Art performed
Aglaea : the essential value of art. Theories about the meaning of art ; Love at first (and second) sight ; Perception trumps information ; Decoration
Marley's ghost : past, present, and future. Fings ain't wot they used t'be ; Art and the influence of language ; Museums and Mammon ; Auctions as news and entertainment ; The commoditization of contemporary art ; The art our culture deserves ; Is ours a Golden Age? ; The reckoning ; An art market in recovery ; AD 2020 ; What values of art are permanent? ; Relax and enjoy
The value of art in the cyber age. Thalia ; Euphrosyne ; Aglaea
The value of art in the age of identity & activism. Thalia ; Euphrosyne ; Aglaea
Afterword: the judgement of Paris.

"On the tenth anniversary of its publication, this upated edition of a work ARTNews hailed as "one of the best books ever published on the art world" features new material on the latest art deals, reflections on race and culture, the impact of the pandemic on the art world, and more. Internationally renowned dealer and market expert Michael Findlay offers a lively and authoritative look at the financial and emotional value of art throughout history. In this newly revised, updated, and generously illustrated edition Findlay draws on a half-century in the business and a passion for great art to question and redefine what we mean by "value," addressing developments in this conversation since the book was first published in 2012: the rise of NFTs and digital art; the auction house as theatre; the pressing relationship between art and society's fraught political landscape; and the impact of the pandemic. With style and wry wit, Findlay demystifies how art is bought and sold while also constantly looking beyond sales figures to emphasize the primacy of art's essential, noncommercial worth. Coloring his account with wise advice, insider anecdotes involving scoundrels and scams, stories of celebrity collectors, and remarkable discoveries, Findlay has distilled a lifetime's experience in this indispensable guide, now updated for today's sophisticated and discerning audience"-- Provided by publisher.