Just in case you wanted to know.
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Art Value and
Valuation
Zafiris Gourgouliatos, 2001
How the paintings are being priced
(or why paintings are so expensive - not mine - in general):
If the painter is alive, not famous, and
produces art:
The painter needs a certain income to
maintain a decent lifestyle and be able to produce art. He estimates how much of
his time he devotes to painting versus doing odd jobs to maintain himself and
calculates the percentage of his income that has to come from art. He counts the
number of works he produces in that period of time. The total of the sale price
minus commissions etc. will have to be equal to his desired income from the art.
Otherwise he will be a starving artist and will need to get a job that takes
time and effort away from art. If the patrons of the artist have to
decide whether they believe that he is worthy to continue making art versus
getting a real job and get a life. If they want him to continue making art they
the have to figure out their level of contribution, in the form of buying the
paintings, to support his eccentric or frugal lifestyle.
If the painter is famous or dead:
If he is famous, since the
amount of work that he can produce is less than the demand, the prices are based
on supply and demand or what the market can bear. If he is dead, he is not
producing anymore and art just changes hands. The price then is judged by supply
and demand.
A word of advice from experience:
All art prices are negotiable
unless you are at an auction.
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