Paper presented at the Art Crime Protecting Art, Protecting Artists and Protecting Consumers Conference.
There is a large, complex and vigorous art market in Australia. It consists of a wide range of different kinds of art, including paintings, photographs, sculptures, works in glass, ceramics, and antiquities, among others. There are hosts of artists, many alive and struggling, many deceased and revered, some deceased and perhaps undeservedly ignored. There are many different kinds of commercial enterprises that are devoted to art, including commercial galleries, auctions houses, arts and crafts shops, and of course, artists who sell directly to the public. There are many layers to the market as well, with a small number of established, mostly deceased, artists commanding exceptional prices for their art, ranging down to local (and living) artists where the costs for the art are quite modest.
