Talk About Art Appreciation!!

A few quick thoughts about last month's Christie's Art Auction:

The final tally of the auction was $128.2 million on 58 separate lots. That's cool. The big winner of the night was a Monet painting that was expected to sell in the $12-18 million range, but actually went for $20.2 million.

But another Monet painting was, in a sense, the biggest loser of the sale. It was estimated to go in the $2-3 million range, but only brought in $1.5 million. For the most part, however, works by well known painters fetched more than their estimated value.

But, one sale really stood out for me. A Joan Miro painting, estimated to sell for between $6-8 million, went for $11.8 million. Although the dollars definitely made an impression, it wasn't the best part of the story. The 1938 painting, titled, La caresse des étoiles, had never been exhibited before appearing at the auction. It had hung in a Manhattan apartment for all these many years.

And, even more astounding, was that the owner of the painting obtained the work by trading an overcoat for the painting with Miro's art dealer in Paris at the end of World War II! Now, that's a good deal.