This course will introduce students to the fundamental knowledge of the history of patronage, the art market and the larger institutional network that supports and promotes art. Adopting interdisciplinary approaches, this course aims at giving students an opportunity to think critically about the economic aspect of art as well as the relationship between aesthetic value and the economics of the marketplace. Focusing on China, North America and Europe, throughout the course we will explore issues such as the roles of religion, court and state in the patronage system, impacts of marketplace on artistic styles, questions of price determination, the globalisation of art market, and the discursive practices of art consumption.