In most areas of human activity, from science to business, we expect performance to uniquely determine access to resources and reward. Yet, in areas where individual performance is difficult to quantify, reputation and invisible networks of influence also play an important role. Such effects are particularly important in arts, where quality and value cannot be divorced from contextual parameters, like the artist’s reputation or its relationship to art history. To understand the role of these invisible factors, researchers collected information on 497,796 exhibitions in 16,002 galleries, 289,677 exhibitions in 7,568 museums, 127,208 auctions in 1,239 auction houses, spanning 143 countries and 36 years, allowing to reconstruct the artistic career of 496,354 artists. The conclusions of the recently completed research program will be presented for the first time in front of an art professional audience at Art Market Budapest 2018.