What Does $104 Million Buy These Days?
We’re not in a recession anymore. Well, at least not everyone.
Just a few days ago, someone bought a life-sized bronze sculpture of a man by Alberto Giacometti for the world record price of $65,001,250 pounds or about $104.3 million.
That’s insane.
It took only eight minutes for bidders to reach the hammer price after the auction opened at $12 million pounds. This was the most expensive work ever to be sold at auction.
The buyer remains anonymous—having bought the piece through phone bidding.
Perhaps I am just simply not an art aficionado. I would never pay that much money for a single sculpture, regardless of its artist, topic, history or worth. Actually, I would never pay that much money for a single thing—ever. I can think of at least five other things to do with $100 million than to spend it on a sculpture that will just collect dust and look pretty in a museum or in my living room.
As John Stossel likes to say, “Give me a break!”
In case you were wondering, the previous world record breaking price for an art work was $58,520,830 pounds commanded by Pablo Picasso’s “Garcon a la Pipe” which sold in New York in 2004.
These world record prices don’t include any private sales that command higher prices.For example, in 2006, Jackson Pollock’s No5, 1948 sold for $140 million!
What upsets me the most is that because this work is now in private collection and not in a museum it won't be on view to the general public. I'm still waiting for my chance to see Giorgio De Chirico's Mystery and Melancholy of a Street, which is also in private collection. I did get to see Jasper John's False Start a few years ago at a retrospective of his at the Met (which was great!)
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That's true. I'm wondering if it was some sort of foundation though that bought it. If not, I would imagine at some point the owner will lend it to a museum for an exhibit. One would hope, at least.
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One would hope.
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