Art continues to prove itself a sound, not to mention exhilarating and satisfying investment, and The International Art Markets shows the huge scope for diversification within that market. Despite the financial crisis of 2007/8 and its after effects, international trade in art and collectibles has grown over 55% from $29bn in 2009 to $45bn in 2013. That now includes major art trading countries from the recently developed and developing world. In 43 chapters, written by 58 mostly locally-based experts from the art trade, it covers 21 countries from Europe, 12 from Asia and Australasia, five from South America, four from the Middle East and Africa, and two from North America. Each chapter provides the following essential information you need to understand the market in each country: art market history including taste, fashion, value, artists, art types, subjects, sales, prices and records; market structure and performance, including auctioneers, dealers, trade associations, museums, exhibitions, fairs, training and education; and tax and regulation. Comprehensive, informed and packed with valuable information, The International Art Markets will be the first point of reference for art collectors and investors and anyone who wants to understand the enormous breadth and complexity of the world's art markets. To complement this book, some of the individual countries featured in the text are accompanied by additional online material on the historical background of their particular market.