A special observatory for the diffusion of Surrealism in Italy in the Sixties: Finarte contemporary art auctions in Milan

Abstract

In the art system of 1960s Italy (museums, exhibitions, private collections, gallery owners and dealers), a new factor was certainly represented by the phenomenon of contemporary art auctions. The aim of this paper is to analyse the circulation and financial valuation of Surrealist works in 1960s Italy from this specific point of view, with particular reference to the Finarte auction house in Milan, whose development over the period 1961-1971 has been reconstructed on the basis of an analysis of the adjudication prices. These data, compared with documents relating to collectors and gallerists, will help to reconstruct a more precise picture of the Italian Surrealism market in a decade, that of the 1960s, in which there was a real explosion of interest in the artists of the movement.