Coral's Art History Blog: Price of Art #11

When is art at too high of a price and when is it worth investing in? Naturally you would think that if an original painting going up for sale was at an unreasonably high price no one would buy it, but not in the case of Francis Bacons Three Studies of Lucian Freud painting. This painting was bought by an unknown buyer for $142.4 million November 2013. This sale marked the record of the highest auction price for a painting of a deceased artist up against recent purchases such as Balloon Dog by Jeff Koon for $58 million (whom is still alive) and Silver Car Crash by Andy Warhol (who is deceased) for $105 million. Some people would question those who would consider buying pieces so expensive or would even question those who like it.

When it comes to investing in art you have to consider that everyone does things for a different reason. One might purchase art because they love it and the piece specifically speaks to them, another might buy a piece of art as a symbol of their success and to show others what their success can buy them, or someone is purchasing art because it could be worth more later. If you think about it whoever bought Francis Bacons painting obviously doesn’t want people to know they bought it, so the theory that people are show offs might not be true in this case. Maybe they are simply a fan of his work. Everyone likes something different, just because you don’t agree doesn’t mean they are wrong for liking it.

Looking through some of Francis Bacon artwork I find myself wanting to like his pieces, but I can’t help but feel disturbed by looking at the distorted faces and bodies. I personally would most likely not want one of his paintings hanging in my house to look at everyday. Regardless of my opinion this was his style or what he was interested in, he had the talent to depict raw emotion and the darkness of life. When he fist started painting in his 20’s he struggled to find a subject that inspired him, until he played with the idea of anxiety and emotions. Francis Bacon became an unusual artist with a very distinctive style. He was a big fan of both Picasso and Diego Velazquez, which he actually liked one of Velazquez’s paintings Portrait of Innocent X so much that he tried to re-duplicate it himself, including his signature twist. At one point in his life he was into interior design, which explains the environment he most often likes to paint his subjects in. Even if you don’t particularly like Francis Bacons work you still have to respect an artist for putting their true selves out there and also respect those who buy it, since what people decide or how people decide to spend their money is their own business.