Investing in art

　　Monet1-maker

　　搖錢畫(陳繼龍 編譯)

　　(譯者按：Monet-maker可能諧形諧義自money-maker，后者指“會賺大筆大筆錢的人”或“賺錢的東西”又或“賺錢的生意”，而本文所分析的藝術品投資也正是指的是當前人們將印象派創(chuàng)始人Monet等名家的作品作為投資對象，以獲取高額利潤。)

　　Jun 1st 2006

　　From The Economist print edition

　　EVER since the 1870s, when a group of French landscape painters produced work d__________① unacceptable for the Paris Salon but went on to sell rather well, malnourished artists have comforted themselves with the thought that the market would one day put a proper value on their work. For many (mostly long-dead) artists, this finally appears to be happening. (1)Investors in financial assets may have had a jumpy few weeks, but salesrooms have notched up[1] record prices in May.

　　19世紀70年代，一群法國風景畫家的作品被認為登不了巴黎畫展的大雅之堂，可銷路卻一直很好。從那以后，“營養(yǎng)不良”的畫家們就總是想“市場早晚會給他們的作品一個合適的估價”，聊以自慰。對于許多畫家而言，最后好像確實夢想成真了(大多數(shù)是在去世多年以后)。過去幾周，金融資產(chǎn)投資者們的日子也許過得心驚肉跳，可拍賣行卻拍出了5月份的最高成交價。