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Posted by: Ben Higgins May 4 2012, 07:39 AM

Check it out, some guy (or girl) paid £74 Million ($120 Million) for an original painting of 'The Scream' by Edvard Munch. It is a haunting and very famous piece of work but would you ever pay that much for a piece of art ? Even if you did have the money ?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/scream-sells-record-120-million-auction-001754463.html

Posted by: Bossie May 4 2012, 07:41 AM

I'd sell my mother for that painting....ofcours i would buy her back later

Posted by: thefireball May 4 2012, 08:45 AM

Never would pay that much money for anything. Debt for life!

Posted by: Ben Higgins May 4 2012, 09:14 AM

Haha, you like it then ? It is an amazing piece for sure



However, I agree with Fireball, I'd never pay that much money for anything !

These are some paintings (by that, I mean prints) I'd love around my house..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starry_Night_Over_the_Rhone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Caf%C3%A9_Terrace_on_the_Place_du_Forum,_Arles,_at_Night

Posted by: JTaylor May 4 2012, 10:15 AM

There was a story on the radio a couple of years ago about these people who had an original....Michelangelo, I think. They had no clue that's what it was and got it appraised after pulling it out of storage. A museum gave them 300,000,000 (that's right, 300 million) dollars for it. Maybe it's because I am not an art buff, but that's just plain stupid to me.

Posted by: tonymiro May 4 2012, 10:35 AM

The most we've paid for a painting was @£5000 for a work by Terry Frost (we've got a few by him) about 15 years ago. (I guess that's appreciated though since his death a few years ago.) It's hung on our bedroom wall for years and we still get great enjoyment from seeing it each day. What we're happy to pay is related to our disposable income though. If we had the money I'd happily pay millions for works by artists like Francis Bacon, Jean Miro and so on but we haven't so the closest I'll ever come to them is visiting galeries.

Ultimately 'value' is subjective and it may well be that this has been bought less as a piece of art and more as an investment. What is sad is that many valuable art works end up locked away from the public. Many of them are not even displayed in private collections but kept under lock and key as they're valuable investments...

Posted by: Nihilist1 May 4 2012, 10:52 AM

I don't think I would pay that much for art.

However, any artwork by Zdzislaw Beksinski is something I would definitely fork my money over for. I wouldnt mind paying a few grand for some of his art.

No other artist captures my imagination quite like him. He is a surrealist painter from Poland, and he became pretty famous for his grim artwork.

He never titled a single piece of artwork either. Which a lot of people find strange.

There is a museum in Poland dedicated to his work, and there is a structure built in the desert of Nevada called "The Beksinski Cross" I am going to visit "The Beksinski Cross" this summer. Which is something I am excited for.

http://www.beksinski.pl/

Posted by: JTaylor May 4 2012, 10:59 AM

The only print I have ever bought is a Nagel, which I paid about $20 for almost 20 years ago. This lovely girl is on the wall in my computer room to this day.

Posted by: Nihilist1 May 4 2012, 11:36 AM

Good choice. His women are lovely. He reminds me of a modern Alberto Vargas.

Posted by: Sensible Jones May 4 2012, 02:59 PM

*sings*
"And American Buisinessmen snap up Van Gogh's for the price of a Hospital Wing......"

I really don't understand how such a figure can be put on a painting/artwork or whatever. I know things are worth whatever someone is willing to pay but it it seems wrong that this amount of money be spent on something trivial to brighten up someones House when the money couold be far better used elsewhere!


I love Munch. I went to a recent exhibition of his work in London.

Posted by: Dieterle May 4 2012, 03:31 PM

With this money they could help a lot if young people getting into employment.

No one should have such a lot of money - what not means the ones who like to do more shouldn't have some more .

Dieter

Posted by: JTaylor May 4 2012, 06:49 PM

Thank you! I forgot that my wife and I also bought a book of Salvador Dali prints at a yard sale too! I like those also. I also like that site you put the link to but it won't let me go past the first page so I can see more.

Posted by: Nihilist1 May 4 2012, 10:56 PM

That is a shame that none of the links are working. Just do a google images search on Zdzislaw Beksinski and you will find all his work.

Posted by: Todd Simpson May 5 2012, 12:40 AM

As you may know this is one of four such SCREAMS the artist created, only one of which can be seen outside a Museum and that's this one. I gotta say I was a bit shocked at the price but maybe Mark Zuckerberg (facebook) just got something for his den? Either way good score!

Posted by: The Uncreator May 5 2012, 03:31 AM

People underestimate the power of art it seems. The person who bought this probably couldnt see buying a guitar for $5,000, yet thats commonplace.

If I had the money to burn, even $120,000,000 of it, I would by a lot of Luis Royo's work. A lot of art, its something incredibly unique. Its like owning the only copy of your favorite album, and every other one is just a cover band playing it.

Posted by: Ben Higgins May 5 2012, 10:11 AM

True, it's all relative to the what's normal or acceptable to each individual. Plus, if the buyer can spend that amount of money on a painting, they clearly have much, much more money than that in total. Probably a billionaire. For all we know, that person perhaps does loads of things for charities and all sorts behind closed doors. A lot of business tycoons do a lot of unannounced donations to projects and charities to help others, we just don't necessarily hear about it is all.

Posted by: Fran May 5 2012, 11:04 AM

I like that painting. Not worth that IMHO.

Posted by: Ben Higgins May 5 2012, 11:12 AM

Yeah I'd be happy to buy just a print !

Posted by: JTaylor May 5 2012, 01:02 PM

Ben, you have been such a huge help that I wanted to do something here. Hopefully this will suffice until Kris can pay you enough to buy the real thing! [attachment=27333:Ben_Screaming.jpg]

Posted by: Ben Higgins May 5 2012, 01:03 PM

This is a masterpiece Jon !!

Posted by: JTaylor May 5 2012, 01:33 PM

Why thank you! and, of course, I did not copyright it, so feel free to use it!