By Alan Behr

NEW YORK, 30 AUGUST 2007—Art follows commerce, and connoisseurship follows art. Amsterdam and New York became centers of art making only after locals earned fortunes. Ars gratia artis (“art for art’s sake”) has its defenders, but it makes for a bad business model and for artists with permanent day jobs—as servitors for locals striving to earn fortunes. And who, however lofty one’s aesthetic ideals, wants to be the only one in town not making money?… read more