The Biggest Art Sale in History!

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/nov/10/paul-allen-art-collection-15bn-auction-christies

The first past of the sale of Microsoft founder Paul Allen fetched over £1.5 billion dollars. Some paintings going for over $100 million and setting New World auction records. More to come on Thursday! Makes our little part of the Art World looks rather insignificant.
Still the proceeds are designed to go to Philanthropic causes.

Different league. Does any one person really need that much?

It's all bought for investment and stored in bank vaults. If I bought something for say, £500, I am damn sure I would need to like it and look at it.

Given the fragile nature of Pottery at what price point would you lock it away in a Bank vault. Perhaps we will £250,000 for a Coper or Odundo in the coming years. One suspects the insurance on one of those standing on a domestic shelf might be quite substantial.

Personally, I would have no desire to buy anything that I couldn't look at and display how ever much money I had.

I do have an "occasional customer" whose main interest is in ancient cloth and fabrics and has one of the most important collections in the world, if not the most important. A number of international museums, including the British Museum, have had parts of his collection on loan, where they are responsible for the insurance and upkeep. However, he has bought a "country retreat" for his collection with staff, I assume, to look after it and for it to be on display for his occasional visits.

That's how it should be done, if you have the money and any real interest in the items you collect.

In many ways it's sad really, that Great Art is now just regarded as an investment vehicle for vastly wealthy individuals to squirrel away hidden from sight of the rest of us.

Art has been used to show the status, wealth, learning and culture of its owner over and above its purely aesthetic qualities since at least the early renaissance period - i.e. 15th cent. It was used to imply 'learning and culture' even when the owner possessed very little and that hasn't changed after 500yrs.

But people usually displayed it. Now the whole Art Market has been so incredibly warped as an investment vehicle that it all gets hidden away.