A cursory examination of the history of art’s commodification will reveal that money and art have been entwined for centuries.

In 1903, the financier visited the 1903 Salon d’Automne showcasing works by Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and others. Intuiting the success of these young Impressionists, he and twelve partners created an art fund with which they would buy contemporary works to later sell at a profit.