Complex fractions

Rufus Bird questions the value of a new form of art ownership

FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP HAS been around as long as the art trade has existed. A work of art would be purchased by a principal and shares in that work (or works) would be owned by others: i.e. part-ownership, rather like owning a racehorse’s leg. But what has become a hot topic over the last decade is the sense that art can be tokenised and traded as fractions of a larger whole by nonspecialist or retail investors. Several companies, such as Maecenas, Feral Horses, Look Lateral, and Masterworks were part of this new generation of art investment/fractional ownership, building on the enthusiasm for transacting in cryptocurrencies. Feral Horses even sought investment from Dragons’ Den, and were savaged. Their mission, apparently, was to reshape “art investments, making it accessible to everybody and satisfying…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2024

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