Why is art so expensive?

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That's the question, isn't it? Why is art so expensive? And I don't mean those prints of Marilyn Monroe or Paris that you find in Target. I don't even mean the piece pictured here, titled "Leaking," that I found in Nectar Wine, that I believe listed for about $200. Not cheap, of course, but not in the thousands/millions/arms & legs realm.

Anyhow, here's a great piece from the Daily Beast on the ridiculous auction prices for art, from a collection of stools ($575,000) to a cabinet full of surgical instruments ($2.5 million).