Why Qatar’s Art Buying Spree Could Inflate the Price of Paintings
QATAR’S ART-BUYING SPREE Photo: ibiblio.com
How much is too much to spend on art?
That's not a question the royal family of QATAR seems to be asking itself.
Last year, the "Qatar Museums Authority" purchased Paul Cezanne's "Card Players" for 250 million dollars.
That's the highest known price ever paid for a painting.
Other Q-M-A purchases included paying more than 70 million for a Mark Rothko painting.
Some experts worry the high prices the tiny Persian Gulf emirate is willing to pay will cause a global escalation in art prices.
David Ross is co-founder of the Artist Pension Trust, and a former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.
Our coverage reaches millions each week, but only a small fraction of listeners contribute to sustain our program. We still need 224 more people to donate $100 or $10/monthly to unlock our $67,000 match. Will you help us get there today?