Obscene!

[dales133]

Just watched an auction live for a Picasso.
Highest price ever achieved at auction for a painting.
It was going up in 3 million lots and at the end 1 million dollar lots and eventually solid for 160 million.
If someone can aford that much for something as insignificant as a painting imagine how much money they have.
Personaly I find it obscene to say the least anyone can have that amount of money

[Woodbutcher]

It bummed me out too, I was just a million short.

[dales133]

Lol

[Shadow Catcher]

Every thing has a value and a price.

[rebapuck]

Yeah, but Picasso never cured cancer, housed the homeless or bought a political candidate.

[dales133]

I don't mind Picasso s work being highly prized what I mind is if someone could spend that much on a painting imagine what else they waste thier money on without any thought for everyone else that's esentialy paying for it.
Greed isn't good

[Woodbutcher]

I don't think they are wasting their money. People that spend that much know that in a few years they can sell that painting for a huge profit. After all it was not painted and the first time it sold was 147 million dollars. It has had many owners and each time it sold the previous owner made money. This is a business transaction that someone can enjoy and in the future sell for a profit. It's like car collectors. They come in all levels. Some own a VW Bettle and some own a Ferrari. It's all about your ability to pay. But each collector still hopes to sell their car at a profit at some point.

[rowerwet]

People like that keep the rest.of us employed. That sale will provide jobs for the auction house employees, guards, transportation company, preservation experts, etc. This is what drives the economy and gives us blue collar workers a paycheck.
The buyer most likely made their money by offering something people need or want, even if they inherited it, that money is invested and allowing you to get loans or backing your credit card.
Steal this buyers money the legal way (taxes) and you kill the good laying the golden egg.

[Redneck Teepee]

People like that keep the rest.of us employed. That sale will provide jobs for the auction house employees, guards, transportation company, preservation experts, etc. This is what drives the economy and gives us blue collar workers a paycheck.
The buyer most likely made their money by offering something people need or want, even if they inherited it, that money is invested and allowing you to get loans or backing your credit card.
Steal this buyers money the legal way (taxes) and you kill the good laying the golden egg.

[Kaz]

I could buy a forest and fill it with teardrops !

[jstrubberg]

Obscene? Try taking a walk through the Vatican museum sometime. The catholic church could singlehandedly wipe out hunger on the planet if they wanted to. That's not a jab at religion or catholocism, it's a simple fact as to how much wealth is housed there.

The first requirement for wealth is disposable income. Once you have additional income to invest in whatever, education, real eastate, or art, then wealth building begins. The only way to never see this happen is to make sure no one ever accumulates more than they need. That's called socialism, and I would put a bullet in my head before I would live under such a system.

You can raise heck about what someone spent on that painting, but remember, their wealth came from the same system that makes multi-million dollar contributions to charitable organizations possible. No solution is perfect, but our society produces some pretty amazing things, people and gestures.

[halfdome, Danny]

Greed isn't good

Greed is what drives our capitalist economy, the best in the world.
I agree with what rowerwet & jstrubberg wrote.
Danny

[minstrel]

I, also, do not understand the outrageous amounts of money people spend on some things. (Salaries for sports stars, cars, clothes, even motorhomes!.....there are extremes in every category) I'm not judging.....I know others will think what I spend my money on is sometimes silly. I just don't have soooo much money!!!! It's all relative. BUT, my objection was your comment on the "insignificance" of the painting. I'm not a great fan of Picasso, but he helped move art into another realm. Kind of like saying the statue of David is insignificant, Beethoven's 9th symphony is insignificant, the Taj Mahal is insignificant. Art is one of the things that helps us humans rise above.....whether a beautiful car, a painting, dance, music, architecture, etc. Beauty and excellence is kind of what we strive for....As well as peace on Earth, right?
Liz

[GerryS]

Obscene? Try taking a walk through the Vatican museum sometime. The catholic church could singlehandedly wipe out hunger on the planet if they wanted to. That's not a jab at religion or catholocism, it's a simple fact as to how much wealth is housed there.
.

Most of the art in the Vatican is only curated by it....donated or bought with the intent of sharing with generations. Not as investment pieces or status symbols. Is it worth a lot? Yes. Is it selfishly hoarded? No.

To chances are this Picasso will disappear into a private collection and never be seen again publicly. Private collectors aren't usually about sharing their toys. Movie memorabilia and classic cars are the same way. I've seen beautiful pieces at auction being sad by the fact they will disappear forever, at a price I know I will never afford.

Who's more selfish, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church founded by Christ, that preserves, protects and displays much of the great beauty they care for, or a private collector who pays ridiculous sums of money, then hoards it away from public eyes...just so he can say "my precious..."

[angib]

My newspaper had an article suggesting the high price for this painting was because a group of art investors bought it and they were happy to drive the price up since it would increase the value of other art they own. So maybe, yes, a good example of a capitalist economy.....