Monet Breaks the Record

I recall vividly that I first saw both a painting by Picasso and Monet at the National Gallery in London. While I am by no means a connoisseur of art, I was overwhelmed by the pure beauty and the depth of the collection. I visited a couple of times during a week and found it really taxing to the senses. Placed on different floors throughout the gallery were may but the most impressive included Klimt, Gaugin, Cezzane and Manet in addition to the two mentioned above.

I may never be able to figure out how to really price any of these rare prices of paintings but Charlotte Higgins reports in the Guardian is an apt reminder that I am not alone. Some wealthy and aesthetically minded person paid up £40.1 million sterling for Monet's Le Bassin aux Nympheas through an auction. Auctions for rare pieces confirms my view that auction theory in economics is one of the more valuable areas of the wide and increasingly arcane scientific endeavor. To my mind the record price for this piece by Monet, all in the midst of a troubling and probably worsening credit crunch, is evidence that the price mechanism correctly values Monet's pieces. Noting that the premium for this piece is determined by its rarity and aesthetic appeal, I am glad that a number are in public display since I hardly would have seen any.