Instead of her regular Saturday column, Georgina Adam writes a tour d’horizon in the issue of self-interested museum shows, why they happen, how they happen and how hard it is to know whether they’re ever merited or not. The story is too comprehensive to synopsize and any single instance would not do justice to the value of the entire piece. So, here’s a quick description of the forces held in opposition:

The two worlds have opposed objectives. Publicly funded museums and galleries have a mission to display and conserve works of art for aesthetic, art historical and educational reasons. The market, on the other hand, seeks to maximise commercial value, and is only too aware that exhibition in a well-known institution brings recognition, validation and a potential boost in prices for the artist’s work.

Click through to the FT to read the entire piece. It’s well worth the modest effort.

Art for Whose Sake? (Financial Times)