Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art Business
Abstract
The label ‘muse,’ and the attention that comes with it, has kept female artists' names in the minds and institutions of the art world for the past 25 years. The word itself carries enough intrigue to make the women behind great male artists’s works interesting. However, in the past five or ten years, while other, formerly invisible, female artists have received a massive reevaluation in the market, and collectors have trended towards adding women to their collections, the art of female muses still trails that of their male counterparts by a large margin. The gendered value gap is not just about individual works, but market structure. Across three case studies, each featuring a different muse-artist, this dissertation will demonstrate how today’s art market still values its female artists through their personal histories, as well as the extent to which being attached to a male artist raises their position on the art market. The figures examined highlight how biography continues to shape the market trajectories of women artists, with public exposure—through media, biographies, or exhibitions—often translating into higher auction valuations.
Recommended Citation
Dun, Mairi Alice, "The Marketability of the Muse: Understanding the Valuation of Muse-Artists on the Contemporary Market" (2026). MA in Art Business Dissertations. 8.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/ma_art_bus/8