Art as commodity - Fall 2006 NYC Contemporary Art Auctions: Simon de Pury of the New York auction house Phillips de Pury & Company is taking bids on a work by Thomas Scheibitz during the Fall auction of Contemporary Art. He is framed by art works to be auctioned off by Richard Prince (Tender Nurse in background) and Paul McCarthy (Hammer Head in foreground.) The international art market is experiencing a staggering growth period: the combined sales of Christie's and Sotheby's in New York of contemporary impressionist and modern art totaled around $1.3 billion surpassing records set during the early 1990ies before the the art market crashed. New York City November 16 2006. (Photo by Katja Heinemann/Aurora)
