Concentrating on paintings as well as books and oriental art, this is a panorama of the art market during the past century, covering collectors, dealers, auction houses and sales. It portrays the rise of the auction houses - Sotheby's and Christie's - and reviews controversial transactions and spectacular auctions in which such works as Picasso's Au Lapin Agile and Van Gogh's Irises and Portrait of Dr Gachet changed hands and broke records. The narrative is underpinned with financial facts and a discussion of art-price trends.