Five Priceless Works of Art Hang on My Walls
Five Generations of Family Art
I have been thinking lately about values. The "value" of crypto drops 50% in one day. Precious metals fluctuate in value, the stock market, real estate, they all rise and fall, the value that is. The price, or value, we place upon art also ebbs and flows with fickle markets. Many people lacking any aesthetic sense speculate in works of art, picking up works done by an up and coming artist in the hope that he or she will be the next Bitcoin of the art world, lacking any attachment or connection to the artwork itself. Our homes, the pictures on their walls; at times it seems everything has been commodified.
I have several pieces of artwork hanging on the walls of my home that I consider priceless. Mind you, if I were to bring any of them into a gallery for an appraisal they would laugh. Their standard of valuation is very different than mine. For instance, the pen and ink below was done in 1917 by a great-uncle. I never met the man. The subject of the drawing is Diogenes, the cynic philosopher of ancient Athens. It came into my possession through my father. I found out via an internet search that this pen and ink drawing is a rendition of an 1860 painting by an artist named Jean Leon Gerome. It hangs in the Walters Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Why my grandfathers brother sat in the Walters Museum 101 years ago and did this meticulous pen and ink drawing, reversing the image, is a mystery. The framed work has been in my family for a century. My grandson recently took a picture of it with his Iphone after admiring it. Who knows, it may end up on his wall someday. My point is this, this work of art is priceless to me. Its value is determined by the emotional satisfaction it provides. It is as irreplaceable as the original by Gerome, yet when measured in dollars on the art market it is worthless. Something to ponder. (please forgive the Ipad photo)
The next three priceless works of art that hang on my walls were done by my father. The first one, just below, is a pencil drawing of a man sitting astride a horse, by a lake. A single word, "nostalgia" is barely visible at the bottom. My father died in 1960 when I was a toddler, making his artwork an avenue of knowing something about him, his values and dreams.
The next two are a matched set of bucolic watercolors. The first one is of a dormered home out in the country, a fenced paddock and barn in the background. The title of this watercolor, written in my father's hand, is Dream Home. The watercolor just below Dream Home is an unnamed wooded scene depicting coniferous and deciduous trees in rolling hill country, and a lake off in the distance. My father was born and raised in the Bronx, yet when he picked up a pencil or a brush he always chose open spaces and the natural world for a subject. A hint here and there into who he was and what he valued.
And the last piece of priceless art that adorns the walls of our home is the painting below. It hangs in a cheap frame on the wall of our dining room. My grandson painted this at about four years old. I was very impressed with his composition and use of color. If I were to hang this in a prestigious gallery in New York I would tag it as Folk Art, or perhaps Primitivism. Jesting aside, I like it very much. It makes me feel good to look at it, to think of his busy mind picking his colors and his little hands working the brushes. This painting too, is priceless to me.
The valuation of all art is entirely subjective, and relative. The Mona Lisa has no intrinsic value. As canvas, paint, and frame alone, it is worthless. The reason that our civilization puts the "priceless" tag on the Da Vinci painting is similar to the reason that I attach the same "priceless" tag to the artworks of a great-uncle, my father, and my grandson. Beyond artistic merit, the Mona Lisa has cultural value, historical value, and it connects those of us living today to those who came before us. The five pictures hanging on my walls will never hang in the Louvre, but the walls of my home are a private Louvre where I find artistic merit and a connection to those who came before, and those who will continue after.
Value only depends on how much the individual is willing to pay. Art is always priceless, I believe. For it triggers emotions which cannot be priced nor measured. These are amazing paintings and you should be very proud of your ancestors and relatives for they were very talented!
It is encouraging to encounter people from all over the world with their values set correctly. Thank you! Preserve your own inheritance also, as we remember that the value of life’s most valuable treasures are not measured in money.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say and I believe value is also. Whether it is art, real estate, a peice of jewelry, a vehicle or family heirloom it will be worth as much, or little, as a person’s perception of it will allow. And as we know a person’s perception is their reality.
I wrote a post last week about a much-loved toy I used to have 40 years ago (which I still have) and its “value” to me all these years later; Similar to your artwork I guess. When I am gone it will probably be thrown away as valueless by whoever handles my estate. Interesting huh?
The word value tends to bring images of monetary worth however value is simply a word. It can apply to many things. We value life, our partners, relationships, our own lives even...Or we should at least!
The emotion of sentimentality is powerful and means we can find value in places others don’t. The emotional buyer will pay more for real estate than a financial-return-oriented investor just as you would pay more than anyone else to buy back one of your artworks should you lose it and have to bid at auction for it.
I like that you find value in sentimental things and the emotion and feeling those things give you. Speaks highly of you.
Gave this a RS.
Your input is always welcome, and sound. Relating it to our common "hobby" of firearms, I have owned many over the years, but there are only two I would never consider selling, both are rifles. There are a few that I have seller's remorse over, but only because of their appreciation in value, the ones you kick yourself for unloading. I'll have to take a look at that post I missed; the one about your childhood toy.
Thanks for the RS
I’ve sold, or disposed of, things I regret letting go and I’ve held onto things (people or materialistic things) I should have let go. We can only do what we do based on what we know at the time I guess. I try to make better decisions. I’ve just off-loaded 3 guns and took a long time to come to that decision so I (hopefully) wouldn’t end up regretting it. “Sellers remorse”...I’ve had it’s evil twin a few times too...Buyers remorse. :)
Here’s that post.
https://steemit.com/life/@galenkp/my-42-year-old-toy-one-of-my-most-prized-posessions
I just read it....excellent piece. I wish I found it sooner. I'll have to be more diligent.
Thanks mate. I miss so many good posts. It’s difficult to keep up sometimes.
@dissfordents, I just posted this, prompted and inspired by your artwork post. :) Cheers.
https://steemit.com/art/@galenkp/what-do-you-value-how-do-you-value-it-and-who-will-value-it-when-you-re-gone
That is an awesome piece of writing @galenkp, and I am humbled that my experience struck such a chord in you, and that you included my thoughts to your own. Your father is immensely talented. I had no idea. My dad died when I was 23 months old so I know him only through the memory of others and his writings and some drawings. Your Pop is an inspiration, still pursuing his craft at 82 and with dementia. The indomitable human spirit; it’s stronger in some than others. I notice it is very strong in creative people like you dad. Thank you so much for sharing this, it made my evening.
Thanks bro, you inspired the words man so thank you. I'm sorry you only knew your dad through other people's memories. Sucks. I was lucky, and to still have mine is a blessing. My wife's dad died of cancer when she was 11 years old but she says she had the best 11 years with him and he is in her thoughts every day, as I am sure your dad is in yours.
BTW I had to resteem this
I appreciate the RS :)
Love it! I agree, and can totally relate. However, I have been out of wall space for far too long. If you added it all up it may not calculate to much. Steem ON!