Art History In The Making

"Museums provide the first draft of art history. They decide which artists get to share wall space with masters like Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Picasso." ~ Zachary Small New York Times Reporter

New York is the global epicenter of the art market. It is estimated that New York accounts for up to 90% of the value of sales in the US, making it the global epicenter of the art market. The US was the largest art market in the world in 2019, with a market share of 44%. There are more than 760 galleries in New York City alone, according to a 2020 analysis.

An April 25, 2025, New York Times article by Zachary Small and Julia Halperin noted that museums that have the responsibility to curate who to feature have in recent years increasingly turned for logistical and, at times, financial support for their shows to major commercial art galleries, an elite slice of the art world which account for a sizable chunk of the $57.5 billion art market. Thus, the gallery system is the vehicle for art history in the making. Read their full story with this link.

Hyperallergic reports that the annual Artlogic Gallery Report is now out, and "its findings capture a portrait of an art world and gallery sector at a pivotal crossroads. One that’s simultaneously embracing innovation and grappling with intensifying challenges." Here are the four key insights:

• Hybrid Is the New Normal

• Running a Gallery Is Tougher Than Ever

• Keep Your Collectors Close

• One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Want the full picture? Download the 2025 Artlogic Gallery Report to explore all the insights, data, and recommendations shaping the future of galleries.

Interact with Digital Art Augmentation:

Google Arts and Culture

Bonjour Vincent, at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris is a lifelike doppelgänger of the Dutch artist who chats with visitors, offering insights into his own life and death (replete with machine-learning flubs).

National Gallery Imaginirium

Google Virtual Tour of the National Gallery, London

Explore Leading Art Periodicals:

Artforum

Art in America

Hyperallergic’s journalism offers trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. It spotlights artist-led social movements, uncovers overlooked stories, and provides global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. It is not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Its journalism is funded by readers, ensuring integrity and independence in its coverage.

ArtAsia Pacific

Visit one of America's leading museums in person or online:

• Whitney Museum of American Art

• Museum of Modern Art New York

• Metropolitan Museum of Art New York

• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

• Frick Collection

• Morgan Library & Museum

• Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles

• Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

• Baltimore Museum of Art

• Dallas Museum of Art

• Museum of Fine Arts Houston

• Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami

• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

• National Gallery of Art

• National Museum of Women in the Arts

• Glenstone

• J. Paul Getty Museum

• Los Angeles County Museum of Art

• Crocker Art Museum

• Schneider Museum of Art

International Art

• The Louvre

• Musée d’Orsay

• Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

• The National Gallery, London

• Art Gallery of New South Wales

• 100 Of The World’s Top Art Galleries

---

The Purpose of Art

Suzi Gablik's 1995 book The Reenchantment of Art asks: How might we restore to our culture its sense of aliveness, possibility, and magic?

"We live in a culture... a particular way of life for which we have been programmed lack any cosmic, or transperson dimension, but its underlying principles of manic production and consumption, maximum energy flow, pointless waste, and greed are now threatening the entire ecosystem in which we live." Thirty years ago Gablik wrote: "My sense is that what we will be seeing over the next few decades is art that is essentially social and purposeful, art that rejects the myths of neutrality and autonomy....forms evoking the feeling of belonging to a larger whole rather than expressing the isolated, alienated self... a new connective, participatory aesthetics.. a value-based art that is able to transcend the modernist opposition between the aesthetic and the social."

---

Fine Art

Wikipedia says that "In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as pottery or most metalwork) or is generally of limited artistic quality to appeal to the masses. The decline of the concept of "fine art" is dated by George Kubler and others to around 1880. When it "fell out of fashion."

Art Education

A fine arts degree, such as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), is an undergraduate program focused on professional education in visual and performing arts, emphasizing practical studio work over traditional lecture-based courses. Students typically specialize in areas like acting, music, painting, or graphic design, preparing them for careers in creative fields.

Patrick Collier notes that "very few artists achieve any sort of financial independence by making art... and approximately five percent of art students continue to make are five years out of school."