The Portuguese Contemporary Art Auction Market Between 2008 and 2011

The purpose of this study is to understand how the Portuguese auction market for contemporary art reacted to the global crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank in September 2008. By studying the records from some major auction houses in the country it is possible to understand the movement of this market between 2008 and 2011, and to compare it with the international auction market. This study shows that the Portuguese auction market for contemporary art followed a different path from the international market, facing a longer period of recovering.