The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay $12 million for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock’s drip painting No. 5, 1948 sell for $140 million?

Intriguing and entertaining, The $12 Million Stuffe d Shark takes a Freakonomics-style approach to the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world. Why were record prices achieved at auction for works by 131 contemporary artists in 2006 alone, with astonishing new heights reached in 2007? Don Thompson explores the money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of the art market to uncover what deems certain works valuable while others are ignored.

This book is the first to examine the marketing strategies and financial mechanisms that enable the modern art world to generate such astronomical prices. Drawing on extensive interviews with auction house executives, art dealers, artists, and the high-profile buyers who drive the market, Thompson takes readers on a journey of discovery through this peculiar domain.

Surprising, passionate, and delightfully gossipy, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark offers a revelatory look behind the scenes, exposing secrets that even experienced auction purchasers do not know.