Art Bubble

Jackson Pollock's "Number 19, 1948"

Art is a vanity business.  “Oh, is that a Jackson Pollock?” … hung on a wall of a Palm Beach ocean-front mansion that was bought for less than the price of the painting. “Why, yes it is … I just had to have what is considered the best example of his ‘drip and splash’ period.”   Notice I didn’t say “fine art” because most of that has disappeared into museums and the basement vaults of art thieves.  I said “art” as exemplified by the likes of Andy Warhol … whom I consider that single person who managed to remove the adjective “fine” from the art world’s vernacular.

And to present a glaring example of such daub-struck schlock … which is now considered exemplary, please take a gander at what some doofus paid $1.9 million for recently:  Bea Arthur Naked.  It doesn't even look like her ... and should be painted on black velvet.

Christie’s just set the art-auction record in New York at $495 million of mostly contemporary paintings … see: Financial Times Article.  And why does such a mania exist?  You can thank our Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, who is causing the printing presses at the nation’s mint to melt from overuse … flooding the world’s plutocrats with more money than brains.  First the affluent bought gold.  Then when that bubble bust, they started buying stocks. Now that this market looks frothy, many have switched to paintings.

And Lawrence Welk never had as many bubbles as are now emanating out of New York City’s art galleries and auction houses.

Afterward:  It's been revealed that Jimmy Kimmel was the $1.9 million purchaser of the Bea Arthur painting ... see: Breitbart Story