A modern mystery

I read in the Evening Standard that the picture known as Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 fetched £28m last time it was sold. £28m worth which we, as members, will be able to go and see at Tate Modern for free in the summer. Bottom right hand quarter of this large painting, the whole thing being about two metres square, illustrated left.

I suppose I ought to reserve judgement until I have seen it, but it is a mystery to me why anyone would pay such a sum for such a picture, a picture which I would have thought could easily be reproduced, by brush or camera, to a very high standard, for a very small fraction of that asking price.

And that pre-supposes that one likes the thing well enough to want it on one's wall.

Then there is the problem of how things have been organised with google so that a search retrieves hundreds of copies of this same bottom right hand corner, but no copies of the whole thing. There is one in wikipedia, but it is very small, which is unusual as wikipedia articles about famous paintings usually do much better, offering something much more suitable for home study.

I do a bit better at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, from whose site I have snipped the next post. The accompanying text also suggests that I might be able to do better still if I apply in writing - but that can wait until I have seen the thing for myself.

PS: is it a relative of our own, humble convolvulus?

Group search key: jwa.