Arthur Getz's New Yorker cover of January 4, 1958 depicts a trio of jazz musicians performing. The original art was sold at auction on Sunday in New York. The presale estimate was $2,000 to $4,000. It sold for $4,000, the high estimate.
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Arthur Getz
Framed original cover art
The New Yorker, January 4, 1958
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| Arthur Getz's signature |
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| Detail of the bassist |
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Detail of the pianist
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Detail of the drummer
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| Hammer Galleries inventory stamp |
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| ALS from Arthur Getz to the work's buyer |
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| Hammer Galleries paid receipt of September 20, 1966 |
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Arthur Getz
Auctions at Showplace sale of June 18, 2023
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Arthur Getz
Framed original cover art
The New Yorker, January 4, 1958 |
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Arthur Getz
The New Yorker, January 4, 1958
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The previous sale, then, occurred on September 20, 1966 at the Hammer Galleries in New York. The price was $650 plus tax. The price today, without the premium is $4,000. This leads to the obvious question: Was this artwork a good investment? Let's look at the numbers.
Six-hundred fifty 1966 U.S. dollars is the equivalent of $6101 today, representing a cumulative inflation rate of 837%. A good financial investment has to return more than the rate of inflation, so this artwork technically fails the good investment test. On the other hand, an investment in the S&P 500 placed in September of 1966 would have returned 5,287% which beats the rate of inflation several times over. With dividends reinvested, though, the same investment returns 26,426%, hands down the winner.
Clearly, in this instance, an investment in the stock market greatly outperforms the rate of inflation and creates wealth, while an investment in this particular work of art does not. To be fair, there were no index funds in 1966 that could mimic the performance of the S&P 500, but that's not really the point.
The point is that art is not an investment that can be relied on to appreciate in value year after year. Some art appreciates significantly over time and some, perhaps most, doesn't.
You are not likely to be able to predict what artists your grandchildren's generation will value. The lesson is not to avoid buying art. The lesson is to buy art that you love. The original purchaser of this Getz art admired it enough to contact the artist and he responded with an invitation to visit him in his studio. Some family's life was enriched by this art for some fifty-seven years. Who can put a price on that?
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