More art is being produced and sold than ever before, at ever higher prices
Hardly need to read the rest of an article with a headline that includes, &quot;the Rich,&quot; as fairly clear what it&#x27;s about.<p>An acquaintance recently (2011) wrote a book about the world of art theft. (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.ca&#x2F;Hot-Art-Chasing-Thieves-Detectives&#x2F;dp&#x2F;1771000694" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amazon.ca&#x2F;Hot-Art-Chasing-Thieves-Detectives&#x2F;dp&#x2F;...</a>) The point I remember him making was that the stolen art was often used as collateral for black market transactions, owing to the opacity of the market in general.<p>It&#x27;s an asset class like any other. Depending on what it is, it will have different liquidity, volatility, and portability properties.  The notional value can be used as collateral in other transactions, with no real transparency on rehypothecation. New appraisals can mark it in support of other calculations, and you can insure it. It can be a bit of a financial black box.<p>Also, art is and always has been a path to social mobility. Hence the parties where young people go to meet older wealthy ones. The real business of art is brokering relationships and transactions, with the art as a pretext.   If you have money and fewer relationships, you can go buy art in any major city as a short cut to local society. If you want access to partners and the kind of social networks that provide opportunities for your future family, it&#x27;s surprisingly accessible. Gallery owners perform a kind of social gate keeping role without a lot of the insular baggage that comes from establishment networks. 
 These relationships and transactions <i>are</i> culture.<p>The idea that someone can just make money, participate in culture by buying art, then move easily between social classes seems offensive to some people, but that&#x27;s really how it works.<p>It also provides a perfect straw man for people who go on about &quot;the rich.&quot;