Christie’s Art Auction

This past Tuesday was evidence of the art market’s flourishing business. A total of 57 works, only three which remained unsold, were auctioned off by a variety of sellers ranging from French philanthropists to Seattle collectors to divorcing couples. The buyers, strangely enough, were all anonymous, as reported in the New York Times.

This auction attracted my interest for a couple of reasons:

First, while we do not know who the buyers were, we do know that 70% were American, 26% were European (which included a significant number of Russian buyers), and 4% were Asian. I was surprised to find such a large number of European buyers, as the artists were all American.

Second, I was amazed that one of the lowest-priced “artworks” sold was none other than a modernist house designed by Richard Neutra, for a mere $15 million. I say “mere” because the highest-selling painting, “No. 15” by Mark Rothko sold for an unsettling $50.4 million.

Upon reading this news, I realized where my deep disillusionment with the art world lies—when an artwork so simplistic sells for almost double what a house costs, you have to wonder: where do the values in art lie?

Most of the paintings sold in this auction were bought previously anywhere from ten to fifteen years ago. Apparently in that decade or two, paintings collect even more value. For example, Rothko’s “No. 12” was bought in 1999 for $11 million. That’s an accrued $35.4 million increase in 9 years! Is it really that much more glamorous now than it was only a decade ago?

It’s issues like these that make me really stop and wonder if the heart of art lies in the right place.