The Social Construction of the Art Brut Market

This article studies the social construction of the art brut market. First, it analyses the genesis of the “art brut” category and the first collection of works of art associated with it, as well as the inclusion of this category in the fight for recognition within the art world. The article then examines the emergence and stabilization of relations of competition and exchange centred on art brut. It shows that the existence of the avant-garde field and the prestige associated with Jean Dubuffet were conditions that made the art brut market possible. It also underlines the effect that the collection of works and the articulation of economic and non-economic factors had on the genesis of market relations.