Some have decades of expertise in the museum, auction or gallery world.

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Since sites selling art online are unencumbered by the physical infrastructure of the traditional gallery or auction house, they can also make their commissions lower and the whole business of buying art much cheaper and more accessible.

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She finds the relentless pace at which auction houses, art fairs and gallery franchises currently offer contemporary works, and the sheer volume of art on offer, troubling.

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The alchemy of a newly thriving middle class, hungry to express pride in its cultural heritage, and market visibility, fueled by gallery and museum shows and auction sales.

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Lo explains why the risk may be worth taking at auction, compared to buying art through a gallery or middleman.

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The auction will take place at the Greg Martin Auctions Gallery at 660 Third Street in San Francisco, and will be simulcast at Martin's New York City location, the Focus Room at 693 Fifth Avenue.

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Such a flight of capital is exactly what worries Sergeant, who sells her work through a gallery on London's posh New Bond Street, not far from Sotheby's main auction site.

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