Examining the Impact of the 2008 Recession on the Market for Irish Art

Michala Davey-Borresen
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2017
BA

Subject: Painting and Installation
Country: Ireland
Period: 21st Century

10,000 words

This dissertation will examine the global and national impact, along with the underlying causes, of the catastrophic financial and economic recession in 2008-2009 on the market for Irish art. ‘Art’ will encompass fine Art such as paintings, sculpture and tapestries and decorative Art such as glass, wood, metal, ceramic, couture and textiles. The relationship between art and money has existed for centuries: once defined as a commodity, the domain of art attracts abstract concepts and ideas that translate art into a material product, capable of being sold for financial gain. With a small population in comparison with countries such as the United States, the limited size of wealth in Ireland makes us a small domestic market and a player worth 1% of the worldwide art market. Irish buyers tend to invest more in art by Irish artists.

Irish Georgian Society

Education Theses Register

Examining the Impact of the 2008 Recession on the Market for Irish Art