Stephanie Adamowicz bills herself as an art market professional in her bio on Huffington Post. But she clearly has limited understanding of both economics and cause and effect.

[D]uring the height of the art market bubble, speculative purchasing behavior was driven by a herd mentality, which drove prices up without a corresponding increase in the value or quality of the works purchased. After the financial markets collapsed, different art market sectors saw corrections of varying levels depending on the amount of speculation that had taken place in previous years. Collectors lost confidence in the market generally, and halted new acquisitions, leaving values of contemporary art up to 30% lower.

How buying improves the quality of art, isn’t clear to us. But Ms. Adamowicz seems to ignore the overwhelming cause of buyer restraint over the last year–the dramatic turmoil in the world economy and financial markets. Whether buyers lost confidence in the art market or simply lost confidence in there being a stable economy in which the could easily replace the cash they spend on art, is impossible to tell at this juncture. Though last weekend’s sales suggest buyers have returned with the return of financial confidence.

The Art Market–One Year Later (Huffington Post)