The value of Art

–The monetary value of certain artists may have gone down, but the value of their art remains–The economic crisis has hit the art world. Art prices have decreased by about 35%, particularly the work of postwar artists whose price tags had previously gone up along with the stock market. Andy Warhol is in that category. His portrait of Mick Jagger recently sold for $1.1 million. The seller had bought it in 2006 for $1.5 million. The work of old masters has, however, not gone down quite as steeply.
Does the value of art really depend on its price tag? Is Warhol less Warhol because his portrait of Mick Jagger sold for less? Is the painting less striking, interesting or unique? The price tag may make a collector feel good, even feed his or her ego. It may contribute to the investment potential of the art world, but it does not reflect the true value of art. Monetary value may be expedient in a world which no longer knows how to get along without money, but those of us who try to see to the core of things need to remember that monetary value and true value travel along different trajectories.