William Poundstone points out that last night’s record price for a Matisse resets the value of the other works held mostly by museums. Though the museums won’t sell them because of the new valuation, the price point does create other problems:
Consider that UCLA’s Murphy Sculpture Garden has the complete series of four Matisse Backs on a wall, exposed to the elements. That’s—yikes—$200 million’s worth of art at today’s valuations?
More Money, More Problems (Los Angeles County Museum on Fire)