Spanning from 1970 to the present day, the contemporary period of art history representsthe most diverse and widely-collected era of artistic production. Contemporary artistsdraw from the current moment, challenging viewers to consider their reality throughanother lens. At auction, record-breaking works of contemporary art include jean-MichelBasquiat's Untit/ed (1982) for $110.5 million, jeff Koons's Rabbit (1986) for $91 million, andZao Wou-Ki'sJuin-Octobre 1985 (1985) for $65 million.

Emerging art is a general categoryfor contemporary artworks created by young artistswhose careers are on the rise, but also includes artists who are relatively under-recognized but for the most part considered on the path to critical and market acceptance.While characteristically championed by smaller galleries and art fairs focused on youngerartists, larger galleries and institutions regularly focus their energy on so called emergingartists to define new styles and careers.

From jean-Michel Basquiat to Shepard Fairey, street artists are known for their creativeexpressions of rebellion. Keith Haring famously turned the New York City subway systeminto his canvas, KAWS broke into telephone booths and graffitied their advertising panels.and Banksy played a trick on the art world when he shredded his million-dollar canvas GirlWith Balloon (2006) after it sold at auction. Today, there are more ways than ever to bringthe defiant style of street art into the home, from salvaged graffitied walls from the 1980sto just released print editions by emerging talent.

The Impressionists rejected traditional art styles, opting for loose brushstrokes to capture landscapes' essence. Their influence extended to modern art movements like Cubism and Surrealism, which introduced abstract painting and conceptual sculpture. This era, from around 1860 to 1945, boasts some of the most expensive artworks ever sold, including pieces by Picasso, Modigliani, Munch, and Monet.