New Books in History Maddalena Alvi, "The European Art Market and the First World War: Art, Capital, and the Decline of the Collecting Class, 1910–1925" (Cambridge UP, 2025)
Dec 17, 2025
Maddalena Alvi, a historian with an impressive academic background from Cambridge, Oxford, and Glasgow, dives into the dramatic transformation of the European art market during the First World War. She discusses how the war disrupted established collecting practices and led to a more modern, capitalist art market. Alvi shares insights from her multilingual research, revealing the contrasting dynamics of the British, French, and German markets, the impact of nationalism, and how art became a lucrative, tangible investment amidst chaos.
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Blend Qualitative Sources With Price Data
- Combine qualitative sources with auction price data to validate market narratives.
- Use both numbers and cultural commentary to detect real shifts, not just reported impressions.
Integrated Market Hinged On A Collecting Class
- Prewar Europe had an integrated art market combining shared taste and price parity across cities.
- A transnational 'collecting class' of patrons, dealers and critics sustained that integration.
State Role Distinguished Paris From London
- Paris auctions operated under a public system where auctioneers were state officials.
- London relied on private auction houses, reflecting different state-market relations across Europe.