Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art Business
Abstract
This dissertation aims to explore how the experiences of personnel who have crossed over from museums to auction houses reflect the increasingly porous boundaries between these traditionally separate cultural and commercial institutions. Utilizing a strong historical and theoretical foundation built upon a historicization of museums and auction houses as well as analyses of key philosophical and sociological concepts and discourse, this paper presents a critical examination of the role of art world professionals as case studies. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with three prolific and generalizable professionals from 1940-2008, fundamental themes emerge from the research that expose how the growing institutional isomorphism in the cultural field and subsequent shifting institutional values can be traced through the careers of art world personnel.
Recommended Citation
Marcus, Sara, "Where the Muses Dwell vs. Where the Muses Sell: How the Experiences of Art World Professionals Reflect the Increasingly Blurred Boundaries between Museums and Auction Houses from 1940-2008" (2026). MA in Art Business Dissertations. 18.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/ma_art_bus/18