Who determines the price of art?
Hello Tigers! Tonight I wanted to expand upon a discussion that we had today during 3rd block. I was asked by many of you, “Ms. B. who decided that ‘The Scream’ painting is worth $119 million dollars or that the ‘Mona Lisa’ is priceless”?
Great questions, but very hard to answer. So many factors go into determining the value of a work of art. We brainstormed in class today some possible reasons how art is priced but I wanted to reiterate and expand upon a few points that I made earlier.
A very simple answer as to why a work of art is worth a certain amount of money is simply that the buyer and seller both agreed that it is. It can be as simple as that. You guys were not happy with that answer and I understand why; it is very vague. A better answer would be that there is logic and passion mixed together when determining the price of art.
The logic part is that the world must deem the work of art a masterpiece, meaning it must be recognized as a ‘one of a kind work of art from an artist who is considered a master artist’. The passion part is simply that it is art. People fall in love paintings (and history). They are willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to own them.
A great art story took place in New York City last year during the time that I live in the city. Several times a week I would walk up 5th Avenue, pass Central Park on my way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I passed by many vendors selling everything from art, photography to ice cream and hot dogs. One day I walked by a man selling ‘spray art’. Of course I noticed him and said hello. I had a brief conversation with him and then I continued on to work. Little did I Know that he was the world renowned artist named, Banskys who sells his art for hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Banksys decided to do a little personal experiment by setting up a stall in Central Park and selling his art for “$60 each.” He had over three dozen pieces of art with him that day that was valued over $1 million. By the end of the experiment, only three people purchased pieces-including a woman who asked him to cut the price down by half! The lucky few who did accidentally pick up a few authentic Banksys are now the proud owners of thousands of dollars-if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of art!
The point that I am trying to make to you is…just like I said earlier, the price of art is determined by both the seller and the buyer. Art (as is beauty), is in the eye of the beholder. Good night tigers we will talk more about this in class next week. Have a wonderful weekend. Ms. B.
Hello Tigers! Tonight I wanted to expand upon a discussion that we had today during 3rd block. I was asked by many of you, “Ms. B. who decided that ‘The Scream’ painting is worth $119 million dollars or that the ‘Mona Lisa’ is priceless”?
Great questions, but very hard to answer. So many factors go into determining the value of a work of art. We brainstormed in class today some possible reasons how art is priced but I wanted to reiterate and expand upon a few points that I made earlier.
A very simple answer as to why a work of art is worth a certain amount of money is simply that the buyer and seller both agreed that it is. It can be as simple as that. You guys were not happy with that answer and I understand why; it is very vague. A better answer would be that there is logic and passion mixed together when determining the price of art.
The logic part is that the world must deem the work of art a masterpiece, meaning it must be recognized as a ‘one of a kind work of art from an artist who is considered a master artist’. The passion part is simply that it is art. People fall in love paintings (and history). They are willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to own them.
A great art story took place in New York City last year during the time that I live in the city. Several times a week I would walk up 5th Avenue, pass Central Park on my way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I passed by many vendors selling everything from art, photography to ice cream and hot dogs. One day I walked by a man selling ‘spray art’. Of course I noticed him and said hello. I had a brief conversation with him and then I continued on to work. Little did I Know that he was the world renowned artist named, Banskys who sells his art for hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Banksys decided to do a little personal experiment by setting up a stall in Central Park and selling his art for “$60 each.” He had over three dozen pieces of art with him that day that was valued over $1 million. By the end of the experiment, only three people purchased pieces-including a woman who asked him to cut the price down by half! The lucky few who did accidentally pick up a few authentic Banksys are now the proud owners of thousands of dollars-if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of art!
The point that I am trying to make to you is…just like I said earlier, the price of art is determined by both the seller and the buyer. Art (as is beauty), is in the eye of the beholder. Good night tigers we will talk more about this in class next week. Have a wonderful weekend. Ms. B.
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