Money and Risk

From a profile of gallerist Gavin Brown:

When Brown started out, in the midst of the early-’90s-art-market downturn, he found the climate invigorating. “With the money gone, nothing is at stake; anyone can do what they want,” he remarked toThe New York Times in 1994. These days, he said, “everyone is aware of how much is at stake, and no one wants to make a false move. I mean, $37 million for a Richter ­painting—$37 million! There’s a collective insanity in many parts of our world, and the art money is just another expression of it.”