Funny: Still Painting Fetches $61.7 Million as Occupy Wall Street Protesters and Unionized Musicians Cry ‘Shame’

An abstract painting by Clyfford Still sold for a record $61.7 million last night, headlining Sotheby’s biggest New York contemporary art sale in three years, while protesters outside chanted “Shame on you!”

The $315.8 million auction at Sotheby’s York Avenue headquarters also broke artist records for Gerhard Richter and Joan Mitchell. Six floors below in the street, picketing art handlers were joined by Occupy Wall Street protesters and unionized musicians playing high-decibel Latin rhythms. Since July 29, 42 handlers have been locked out by the publicly traded auction company over a contract dispute.

“It demonstrates the growing gap between the haves and the have-nots,” said New York art dealer Richard Feigen. “You see people demonstrating out there, people are out of jobs and their houses. And people in here are dumping millions into art.”

The sale, the biggest for Sotheby’s since May 2008, beat the presale high estimate of $270 million, which excludes commissions. Earlier in the day, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 3.7 percent.

“Blue-chip global artists are properly recognized as part of the diversification strategy,” said New York-based art collector Larry Warsh. “Because of the supply and demand issues, we see this tremendous pressure on pricing.’

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-10/still-painting-fetches-61-7-million-as-protesters-cry-shame-.html

Funny: Still Painting Fetches $61.7 Million as Occupy Wall Street Protesters and Unionized Musicians Cry ‘Shame’

Funny: Still Painting Fetches $61.7 Million as Occupy Wall Street Protesters and Unionized Musicians Cry ‘Shame’

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