«IT'S CALLED GOSSIP AND OF COURSE IT'S AN OBSESSION OF MINE»

In a world with about 1,800 billionaires, it only takes a relative few to drive high-end art prices to astronomical levels. Recessions, stock market declines and turmoil in international affairs rarely subdue the fight among these collectors for the best of the best, especially in contemporary art.

In addition to such vaunted names as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, “hot” young artists born after 1955 are earning top auction prices. From July 2014 to June 2015, auction “hammer prices” by the late Jean-Michel Basquiat, Christopher Wool and Jeff Koons reached$33 million, $26.5 million and $23 million, respectively, for single works of art.

-Washington Post

Aug 4 2016.