Wednesday, May 2, 2012

'The Scream' Sells for $120 Million at Auction

Edvard Munch's "The Scream" — sold for a record $119,922,500 at auction in New York City today.

The previous record for an artwork sold at auction was $106.5 million for Picasso's "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust," sold by Christie's in 2010.


Sotheby's said its pastel-on-board version of "The Scream" is the most colorful and vibrant of the four and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, detailing the work's inspiration.

In the poem, Munch described himself "shivering with anxiety" and said he felt "the great scream in nature."

Of course, there is much to scream about in the modern day world: central banks, banksters, recessions, government debt, unemployment, inflation and creeping totalitarianism. It's no wonder, that the painting sold for a record in this world.

3 comments:

  1. Paul Cezannes card players sold for 250 million a month ago (not at auction)

    ReplyDelete
  2. $120mil for a painting. Do Krugman and Co. need any other proof of the debasement of the value of the dollar?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Doug French wrote a couple of pieces at Mises.org on the art market a while back...

    Bubbles and Art

    Paper Money Wears Prada

    ReplyDelete