| In the United States, after the
Impressionists, the biggest dollars go to Americans such
as John Singer Sargent, Frederick Childe Hassam, and William
Merritt Chase. "There are a finite number with a great
nationalistic thing about them," Guglielmino says.
"Last year, a Georgia O'Keeffe broke a world record
at a Christie's auction. People are still investing money
in art if it's iconic or of extremely top caliber. When
there's anything slightly flawed with it, they're holding
back." Certain contemporary painters such as Rothko,
Pollock, Sam Francis, and Clyfford Still are already iconic.
"With Pollock, the earlier and looser works and those
done in black are very sought after. It's even clearer with
Francis, because he lived so much longer and his later works
are not so good."
One reason Guglielmino is popular
with new collectors is that she sees art as a vocation,
one that "can unveil the mysteries of human existence
and illuminate the troubling questions of its end. For many
artists and viewers, the pursuit of beauty is a quest for
the divine. It is in the contemplation of harmony that humans
can seek truth and consolation."
"The nicest thing that a client
of mine said about one of his paintings was that he loves
to sit on his staircase sometimes and just watch it,"
she says, "and to look at it and learn something new
every time." That's a return you just can't get from
bank bonds.
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