Thought for the Day
Wednesday, November 19, 2025

The big headline today is “Leonard Lauder’s Klimt fetches $236.4 million at Sotheby’s.” Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Elizabeth Lauder (1912-1914) is the most ever paid for modern art at auction. This headline continues a trend that makes the most important thing about art the price it sells for. This monetization of art eclipses the meaning of art or other values of art and reflects how money has become the primary value in almost all areas of culture. There is no escaping it.