Histoire Des Galeries D'art En France Du Xixᵉ Au Xxiᵉ Siècle

From the bric-a-brac and curiosity dealers of the 1830s to the gallery owners of the 2020s, connected to their collectors via social networks, the ways in which works of art are exhibited and sold, and the very nature of these works, have been transformed, as have the relationships that art dealers have with artists, collectors, critics and museum curators.

Drawing on a vast array of sources - archives (correspondence, accounts, dealers' working documents), images (photographs of exhibitions and openings, reproductions of works), the press, eyewitness accounts, and audio and video interviews for the most recent periods - this book sketches out an original history of an art market reacting to societal changes and artistic revolutions. It highlights the complex relationships that exist between dealers, artists and collectors of modern and contemporary art, as well as the profound changes in the profession of art dealer, from the curiosity sellers of yesteryear to the gallery owners of today.