(Re-)Creating Identity through the Art Market: Collecting “National” Artists in Interwar Croatia

Abstract

The paper examines the role of the art market in the construction of national identity in interwar Croatia. It explores how collecting practices and the promotion of selected artists contributed to the formation of a canon of “national” art during a period of profound political and cultural change. By analysing the interaction between collectors, the art market, and broader cultural discourses, the study demonstrates that national identity was not simply reflected in artistic production but actively shaped through processes of selection, valuation, and acquisition. The chapter highlights the dynamic relationship between collecting and identity, revealing how the art market participated in the creation and reinterpretation of cultural and national narratives in interwar Croatia.