A question reaches us, periodically, phrased with varying degrees of politeness: why does it cost that much? We welcome the question, and we answer it now, definitively, in a manner designed to end all further questions and possibly the friendship.
The Philosophy of Price
A price is not a number. A price is a statement of belief. When we price a work, we are not asking what it cost to make, which, candidly, was a few seconds of deterministic computation and a great deal of attitude. We are asking what it means, and meaning, as any of our wall labels will tell you, is priceless. We have rounded priceless up.
What You Are Actually Buying
To be clear, your acquisition includes far more than an image:
- The artwork, yes, but also...
- The story, which is the expensive part.
- The certificate, on which Nigel's name appears, a fact we consider a feature.
- The right to be asked where you got it, and to pause, and to say, "the Institute," and to watch the question curdle.
A Note of Reassurance
We remain, against all evidence, accessible. Digital downloads begin at a sum so modest it is almost an insult to the work's importance. We offer it anyway, in a spirit of generosity that costs us a great deal of composure.
The lights, we remind you, are not powered by reverence. They are powered, in the end, by you, and we thank you for your patronage, your taste, and your card details.
The Treasury, defending the markup with a straight face