Mark Rothko painting_Michael Newman Michael Newman/Flickr

The Ethical Cost of High-Price Art

In New York last month, Christie’s sold $745 million worth of postwar and contemporary art, the highest total it has ever reached in a single auction. In a more ethical world, to spend tens of millions of dollars on works of art would be status-lowering, not status-enhancing.

MELBOURNE – In New York last month, Christie’s sold $745 million worth of postwar and contemporary art, the highest total that it has ever reached in a single auction. Among the higher-priced works sold were paintings by Barnett Newman, Francis Bacon, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol, each of which sold for more than $60 million. According to the New York Times, Asian collectors played a significant part in boosting prices.

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