[Rembrandt_fan]

You wrote, "Let the artsy-fartsy types explain why this paint splotch is worth a full $1.5 mil!"

Here's a short explanation for you: Frankenthaler's work is important and beautiful, and 'The Bay'--necessarily unique since she made no identical copies that I know of--is one of the most representative pieces of her mature style. A more market-oriented explanation would be simply 'supply and demand', since knowledgeable appraisers think $1.5 million is what a given private or public collector or concern would gladly pay to own that particular piece. In an economic sense, art is like any other commodity. Sometimes prices on newer works are either grossly inflated or underestimated, but pieces by proven masters such as Frankenthaler always increase in value over time.

[hunter112]

OK, then you pay $1.5 million for the thing, that much money would buy me a nice wine cellar. There's something I like that not everybody can fully appreciate, either.