Fine Art ll, by Gary Beck

People Viewing Items at an Art Auction, by H. Linton after G. Doré (USA), late 1800s.

Fine Art II

The glitterati glitter
gathered together
at posh auction houses
to bid for paintings
they once sneered at.
Now time has approved
artists who were mocked
for outlandish work
and a slick auctioneer
coaxes millions from collectors
who buy what they buy 
because it's valued by others.
New owners proudly bask
at fervent hand clapping
for record sale prices
for the same painting
they once could have bought
for virtually nothing.

Gary Beck
​
Gary Beck has spent most of his adult life as a theater director, and as an art dealer when he couldn’t make a living in theater. He has 11 published chapbooks and 3 more accepted for publication. His poetry collections include: Days of Destruction(Skive Press), Expectations (Rogue Scholars Press). Dawn in Cities, Assault on Nature, Songs of a Clerk, Civilized Ways, Displays, Perceptions, Fault Lines & Tremors (Winter Goose Publishing). Perturbations, Rude Awakenings and The Remission of Order will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. Conditioned Response (Nazar Look). Resonance(Dreaming Big Publications). Virtual Living (Thurston Howl Publications). His novels include: Extreme Change (Cogwheel Press), Flawed Connections (Black Rose Writing) and Call to Valor (Gnome on Pigs Productions). Sudden Conflicts (Lillicat Publishers). State of Rage will be published by Rainy Day Reads Publishing. His short story collection, A Glimpse of Youth(Sweatshoppe Publications). Now I Accuse and other stories will be published by Winter Goose Publishing. His original plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes and Sophocles have been produced Off Broadway. His poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines. He currently lives in New York City.