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Re: Newman's revenge, Aug. 5.
Peter Simpson seems to think that paintings such as “Voice of Fire” by Barnett Newman “are worth more than 20 times what Canadians paid for them.” I think that Simpson should perhaps have a look at a book like Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay, a classic work on financial bubbles such as the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century. The general rule is that when prices of objects become totally absurd, eventually reality breaks through.
The prices paid for such art works do not reflect their merit. Recently, an unmade bed, originally belonging to Tracey Emin, was sold at auction in London for about $4.6 million; the owner had previously bought it for about $275,000. There was nothing remotely artistic about the bed; it was simply an unmade bed with dirty sheets, underwear, cigarette butts, empty booze bottles, etc.; the only thing of value was the name of the previous owner, apparently a well-known artist.
If the national gallery can really get $40 or $50 million, for “Voice of Fire” they should grab it before this bubble bursts.
Julian Swann, Ottawa
查看原文...
Peter Simpson seems to think that paintings such as “Voice of Fire” by Barnett Newman “are worth more than 20 times what Canadians paid for them.” I think that Simpson should perhaps have a look at a book like Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay, a classic work on financial bubbles such as the Dutch tulip mania of the 17th century. The general rule is that when prices of objects become totally absurd, eventually reality breaks through.
The prices paid for such art works do not reflect their merit. Recently, an unmade bed, originally belonging to Tracey Emin, was sold at auction in London for about $4.6 million; the owner had previously bought it for about $275,000. There was nothing remotely artistic about the bed; it was simply an unmade bed with dirty sheets, underwear, cigarette butts, empty booze bottles, etc.; the only thing of value was the name of the previous owner, apparently a well-known artist.
If the national gallery can really get $40 or $50 million, for “Voice of Fire” they should grab it before this bubble bursts.
Julian Swann, Ottawa
查看原文...
