Top Tick: Vanishing Valuations in the Contemporary Art MarketThe art world loves a spectacle. But at what cost? In Top Tick, art collector and former finance professional David Birkenshaw pulls back the velvet curtain on contemporary art’s high-stakes circus, where branding often matters more than brushwork. Blending personal insight with auction data, he reveals a volatile marketplace in which only the top 1 percent of “brand-name” artists (think Warhol, Hirst, or Basquiat) hold their value, while the rest quietly vanish from gallery walls—and balance sheets. From multimillion-dollar bananas to crypto-funded publicity stunts, Top Tick explores how hype, wealth signaling, and fashion routinely outpace artistic merit. This isn’t a takedown of contemporary art. Rather, it’s a clear-eyed look at how it’s traded, flaunted, and forgotten. A cautionary tale disguised as market analysis, Top Tick is essential reading for anyone who still believes “investment-grade art” is anything but an oxymoron. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Bottle Labels of Chateau Rothschild | 31 |
Cecil Beatons Diaries and the Autobiography of John Bernard Myers | 51 |
Young British Artists YBAs | 69 |
The De La Cruz Collection | 83 |
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acclaim Andy Warhol art collection art world Artprice artprice.com auction presence auction prices Birkenshaw bubble Cecil Beaton Cecil Beaton's diaries celebrated Charles Saatchi Château Mouton Rothschild Chateau Rothschild comeback Consistent auction turnover contemporary art Cruz family cryptocurrency Current Obscurity Damien Hirst Eugene Berman example famous Francis gallery Gary Hume Important Artist inexpensive Jean Carzou Jeff Koons John Bernard Myers John Myers Key Insight known Knox Martin label Major Brand Name major name brand Massive price increase mega collector mid-20th century million in 2024 Museum NFTs number of artists oil on canvas Old Masters Pablo Picasso painter Painting Pavel Tchelitchew peaked in 2015 prices and auction prices and turnover prices have remained Primarily an installation Prominence Ranked No Market red-chip Robert Motherwell San Gemignani Sarah Lucas Solid prices surrealism surrealist today's art market top tick Tracey Emin turnover and prices wallpaper Young British Artists