The Black Market: A guide to art collecting by Charles Moore

Charles Moore's brilliant blueprint reveals the inner workings of the sophisticated moiety that make up the Black artists in the contemporary art world. Moore encourages collecting books, visiting exhibitions, and learning about art and culture before starting a collection. His revelations provide the blueprint to entering the elitist's world of art galleries, art museums, art auctions, and art fairs.

"Buy what you love," is often the advice given to would-be collectors. Moore agrees, but encourages collectors to understand the economics of owning art. He breaks down the importance of financial milestones, like "Diddy Revealed as the Buyer of Kerry James Marshall's Record-Breaking $21 Million Painting," and provides insights and tips about the business of becoming an art collector.

Drawing on a series of interviews with art advisors and such collectors as Hill Harper, Keith Rivers, and Elan Nieves, Moore traces the history of African American art to now, as prominent collections of art by Black artists build a legacy and rewrite history. The author charts the voracious commodification of contemporary art and the position that Black art is forging in the history books.

Charles Moore is an art historian, art collector, author, and doctorate student in art education and museum studies at Columbia University. Moore holds a master's in museum studies from Harvard University. He writes on the economics of art and on contemporary artists for publications as diverse as Artnet, Artsy Editorial, Cultured Magazine, and Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.

Published by Petite Ivy Press, 2020, softcover, 204 pages, 8.5 x 5.5 inches.