The Market Changes Art

The dealer Paul Durand-Ruel gambled his fortune on Impressionism, buying paintings that official institutions refused to show. His boldest move was looking abroad: he cultivated American collectors who snapped up canvases the French establishment wouldn't hang.

That transatlantic market eventually made the Impressionists wealthy. Their independent shows also set a lasting template — artist-organized exhibitions that bypass official gatekeepers, a model still alive in today's art fairs and alternative spaces.