TexasCHLforum.com

I've actually spent quite a bit of time around gallery artists and studied some art analysis and art history in college, but the valuation of a lot of abstract art still leaves me scratching my head.

I remember several decades ago, going through the Denver Museum of Art, a huge world class art museum with paintings and sculptures from every famous artist you ever heard of. Rembrandt, Monet, DaVinci, Dali, Picasso, Degas, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Bierstadt, Remington, et. al.

When you first entered the museum, you stepped through some glass doors and on a wall right in front of you is a big 8-foot-square blank canvas. Absolutely blank: no frame, paint or finish on it of any kind. The name was on the little wall card. It was... are you ready.... "Blank Canvas." I kid you not.

I asked a museum staff if they'd hang up a blank canvas if I walked in with one. He said "oh, no, of course not" like it was a stupid question. "So why did you hang HIS up?" I asked. He said, "well, because he's a very famous artist." Actually, that probably was a stupid question.

I just chalked it up to another lesson in the School of Life.