Artful dealing. (art as investment; van Gogh's 'Irises')

ARTFUL DEALING

The sale in 1987, at auction by Sotheby's, of van Gogh's "Irises" for $53.9 million was the highest ever price paid for a painting. It now turns out that half the price--$27 million--was loaned the "buyer" by Sotheby's which has retained possession of the painting for all but six months since the sale and has it now.

The sale, if that is what it was, has the art world in an uproar. It raises the troubling question: Was this just a way to kite prices? The tab on old and new masters generally tends to rise when a benchmark purchase of this magnit