Masterworks Advisers LLC is an American financial services company that specializes in the art investment market. The company buys pieces of art and files them to the SEC as a public offering. The company then sells shares of the art on their website for varying costs.[2][3] As of April 2024, Masterworks has over 800,000 members and over $900 million in assets under management.[4] The company has sold artworks by Banksy, George Condo, Cecily Brown, Simone Leigh, Claude Monet, and Andy Warhol.[1][4]
History
Masterworks was founded in 2017 by Scott Lynn to make the art market more accessible to investors.[2] However, the company has since strayed from this business model and has begun to prioritize wealthy clients.[5][1]
In 2021, Masterworks raised $110million in Series A funding, led by Left Lane Capital. The backing valued the company at more than $1billion. By February 2022, the company had bought more than 100 paintings, worth nearly $450million[5][6][7]
In June 2023, it was reported that only 5% of the sites registered users had actually made an investment.[5] The company is also known for its large marketing push, as the company nearly doubled its marketing from $5million to $9million. Several employees have also reported "unethical" tactics to get better ad placements on websites.[5]
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