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From: smh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Steven M. Haflich)
Newsgroups: net.invest
Subject: Re: Should I Invest in Art?
Message-ID: <2795@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 28-Sep-84 21:38:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.2795
Posted: Fri Sep 28 21:38:01 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 30-Sep-84 02:30:41 EDT
References: <8700007@hp-pcd.UUCP>
Reply-To: smh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Steven M. Haflich)
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 20

(All figures below come from my very fallable memory, and should be
taken with a grain of salt.)  Some years ago, when Picasso died, NPR did
the obvious stories which mentioned the number of original works still
in Picasso's estate, and the price that recent sales of original
Picasso's had brought on the market.

My multiplication of these numbers yielded a dollar value for the estate
approximately 1/1000 of the yearly GNP for the United States.  This is a
not-inconsiderable sum!

Of course, if the "estate" had attempted to unload even a small fraction
of these works, the market would have been saturated, and the going
price would have dropped precipitously.  (Translation:  This poor academic
would love to own an original Picasso, just like more wealthy connaisseurs,
but I spent my last sawbuck on food!)

Moral:  Art markets are both capricious and very soft.  Unless you like
the art object well enough to leave it permanently on your parlor wall,
invest in something relatively stable and which you know more about,
like venture-capital software houses.  :-) Have a nice day!