The answer turned out to be an emphatic yes. At the unexpectedly successful Sotheby’s and Christie’s London sales that were held in February, the highest prices were achieved by a Degas — the posthumous bronze Petite danseuse de quatorze ans, 1922, which brought £13.3 million ($19 million) — and a Monet, Dans la prairie, 1876, fetching £11.2 million ($16.1 million). There was continuing competition from buyers hailing from the emerging economies. New collectors entered the fray.

Great Impressionist art is rare. Naysayers note that the quantity of good works available is not the same as it was a generation ago, and they’re right. But this rarity drives up bidding. How will the sparkling early Renoir Jeune femme à l’ombrelle, 1868, do on May 5 at Sotheby’s, which has estimated the painting at $700,000 to $900,000? However it plays out, the high price tag attached to the whole category is part of its appeal. Buying an Impressionist painting goes beyond investment and becomes an assertion of wealth, both cultural and financial. In other words, such work is still the ultimate trophy.

Philip Hook is the senior director of Impressionist and modern art at Sotheby’s and the author of The Ultimate Trophy: How the Impressionist Painting Conquered the World. "Always in Style" originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's May 2009 Table of Contents.