Chapter 98. Art Investment (1)

Unlike other commodities, paintings are works of art. And the price of art has nothing to do with the cost of production. The most significant factor affecting the price of a painting is not the size of the canvas or the cost of the paint, but the reputation of the artist.

If an unknown artist's work is revealed to be by a famous artist, the value of the painting can skyrocket by thousands or even tens of thousands of times. In other words, it's a way to make a lot of money in a very short time without much capital!

"Paintings..."

When people think of investment products, most think of stocks and real estate. For experts, bonds, raw materials, and derivatives might be added. However, there is a product in the world that is more stable than gold and consistently yields a steady profit. That is art!

After the financial crisis that nearly collapsed the world economy ended, the global economy began to grow again. Countries injected money to revitalize their economies, and the value of assets soared compared to labor income, widening the wealth gap. While the poor continued to struggle, the rich became even richer.

In this situation, the art market experienced a tremendous boom. Silicon Valley IT entrepreneurs who had amassed wealth through IPOs, owners of prestigious sports teams, Wall Street hedge fund managers, and real estate tycoons bought up as many potentially valuable paintings as they could.

In recent years, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the art market has gone crazy. The value of famous artists' works has been rising daily, and auction prices have set new records every year. The most expensive painting ever sold was for over $400 million!

This is understandable because the artist is someone everyone knows, died a long time ago, and left fewer than twenty paintings.

"Hold on."

Where is that painting now?

That painting will be auctioned seven years from now. Two art experts bought the painting, which had been sleeping in a gallery, and spent millions of dollars to authenticate and restore it. It was confirmed to be an authentic work by the famous artist, and they sold it to a Russian tycoon for $100 million. Later, the tycoon put it up for auction at Christie's, where it sold for the highest price in art auction history.

"It should still be in the gallery right now."

What was the name of that gallery?

I'm not an art industry insider; I just saw it in a news article. I remember the artist and the painting, but I can't recall which gallery it was sold at.

"Wasn't it a gallery in Chicago?"

I searched for a list of galleries in Chicago on my laptop. There are dozens of famous galleries, and hundreds if you include smaller ones. Can I really find it?

* * *

Robert Pandle.

A large man with brown curly hair, he was a well-known New York gallerist in the art world. Robert was meeting his friend and art dealer Patrick Wilshire at a restaurant in Manhattan. When Patrick arrived, he immediately asked anxiously:

"Did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"About Ranksey setting up a street stall in Central Park and selling his paintings for $60. Is it true?"

Two days ago, a post appeared on Twiiter:

[I sold my paintings for $60 at a street stall in Central Park yesterday. But only three New Yorkers bought my paintings.]

On its own, it didn't seem unusual.

But the person who posted it was Ranksey!

Who is Ranksey?

He is arguably the biggest star in the art world right now. Many of Robert's clients are lining up to buy his paintings.

The internet and social media went wild.

- Is this real? Ranksey sold his paintings at a street stall?

- Who is Ranksey?

- Isn't he the one who destroyed his painting at a Sotheby's auction?

- Ah! That crazy guy? Why would anyone buy his paintings? I wouldn't take them for free.

- His paintings sell for $500,000 each.

- I take that back. I'd take them for free!

- The people who bought them are in for a windfall.

- Holy shit! Ranksey's paintings for $60? Didn't one sell for $1.3 million at Sotheby's last time?

- Is the stall still there? It must be.

- Please, just sell for one more day.

- I want to buy one, even just one.

- I'm heading to Central Park right now!

- If anyone bought a painting that day, please contact me.

When Robert saw the post, he nearly fainted. He is a New Yorker, and Central Park is his favorite place. He had been walking in Central Park that day and saw a street stall selling paintings.

He would have walked past it, but the sign on the stall that day, "Selling art at a discount. Don't miss this opportunity!" irritated him.

So he stopped and looked at the paintings. Robert immediately recognized that the paintings were similar to Ranksey's work. After Ranksey became famous, many artists tried to imitate him. Robert thought the artist who painted these was one of them.

It was impossible for Ranksey's paintings to be sold at a street stall in real life.

But it actually happened!

'Unbelievable! Those were real Ranksey paintings?'

Thousands of New Yorkers rushed to Central Park after seeing Ranksey's post. Robert did the same. He searched the entire park with others, looking for the old man who had sold the paintings. But the stall and the old man were gone.

Many people stayed in the park, hoping the stall would reopen, and the media came to cover the story.

At that moment, Patrick's phone alarm went off.

"Hey! Ranksey just posted another tweet."

[A New Yorker who claimed to be a gallerist looked at my paintings and said, 'You can't even draw a straight line. You're just a mediocre artist trying to imitate a pro. It's just scribbles. A third-rate painting. Not even worth $10.' Of course, he didn't buy any of my paintings.]

Patrick burst out laughing at the tweet.

"Haha! What a lunatic. Saying Ranksey can't draw a straight line. Who could have said such a thing?"

"..."

Yeah, that lunatic was me.

"He said he's a gallerist? If he's a New York gallerist, do we know him? Who is he? If he's reading this, he must want to shoot himself."

"..."

Yeah, that's exactly how I feel.

At least he didn't mention my name. If he had, I would have been a laughingstock in the art world for a long time.

While they were talking, another tweet appeared.

[Except for the three paintings bought by New Yorkers, the remaining 12 were bought by a Korean tourist named 'Han.' He is the only person who truly recognized the value of my paintings.]

'A Korean tourist?'

When the old man left, I saw a young Asian man talking to him.

'Could he have bought all the paintings?'

Robert felt like he was going to faint.

'Those paintings! They should have been mine!'

If he had only seen the tweet, he wouldn't feel so aggrieved. But he had seen the paintings in person that day!

If he had known they were Ranksey's, he would have bought them all, no matter the cost.

'How much would they be worth now?'

It's like he lost dozens of lottery tickets right in front of him.

Unaware of Robert's feelings, Patrick continued.

"A Korean tourist? He hit the jackpot."

Robert believed that paintings should end up in the hands of those who truly appreciate their value. And in his view, the value of a painting is its price.

If he had bought the paintings, he could have beautifully framed them and sold them to his clients at the highest possible price.

'Does he know they are authentic Ranksey paintings? He might be giving them away or hanging them in his living room, when they could fetch at least $500,000 at an auction.'

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt like his throat was burning and finished his beer in one gulp.

"Shouldn't we find this Korean?"

"What for?"

"To buy the Ranksey paintings from him."

It would be impossible to find a Korean tourist who had just visited New York.

Robert shook his head.

"Let's drop it."

"Why? You usually go crazy over Ranksey's paintings."

"..."

That's true.

I still feel like I'm going crazy.

"Let's talk about work."

Patrick nodded.

"Okay. Is this the real deal this time?"

"Take a look."

He showed Patrick a photo on his phone. It was a religious painting from the early 16th century. The painting was only 45.4 cm wide and 65.6 cm tall, heavily damaged, and the artist was unknown. Despite this, it was priced at $11,000 due to its historical significance.

Restoring it would cost at least ten to a hundred times its value, and finding a proper restorer would cost even more. Since the painting was by an unknown artist, it would be difficult to sell for more than the restoration cost, so it was often left unrestored.

Patrick took a sip of his beer.

"Are you sure this isn't another dead end?"

Robert said confidently:

"This time, it feels different. There's definitely something about this painting."

The painting they were looking for was of incomparable value, far surpassing even a Ranksey.

Robert learned about the painting's whereabouts a few days ago. If the gallery hadn't published a catalog on their website, he would never have known.

"Where is it?"

"At the Eppenfrit Gallery in Chicago."

They had traced the painting's whereabouts across Europe, visiting France, the UK, and Italy multiple times, often coming up empty-handed. They had found some decent paintings, but not the one they were looking for.

And it was in Chicago, practically next door!

Patrick's eyes lit up.

"If it's the right one, it will break all art auction records."

When an artist dies, the value of their paintings increases due to scarcity. The supply of a deceased artist's works is finite.

Paintings by artists like Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Amedeo Modigliani sell for anywhere from $1 billion to $3 billion.

But even combined, their fame doesn't match 'his.'

If the artist of this painting is really 'him,' it would be worth even more.

"Shouldn't we contact the gallery right away?"

Robert shook his head.

"It's a painting that's been in storage for over ten years, and no one cares about it. No need to stir up trouble."