The Economics of Anonymity

For two centuries, the art market has priced the signature above the surface. The name on the verso has, more often than not, determined the value on the wall.

Anonymity inverts this logic. When identity is withheld, the collector is returned to the only question that should have mattered all along: is the work significant?

We argue that verified, institution-held anonymity — provenance without personality — represents a structurally scarce asset class. The work cannot be diluted by overproduction, reputation cycles, or the artist's later career.

What remains is the object, the record, and the few who hold it.