Capucine (Cappy) Price is a speaker, author and co-founder of CapucinesBoulevard, an online art auction website that presents the work of emerging artists from around the world to the art buyers of the world.

Just as Monet ushered in a revolution on Paris' Boulevard des Capucines by allowing, for the first time, public access to a non-juried art exhibition showcasing the work of the artists who would go on to become the the major Impressionist leaders of all time, Price highlights in her work the benefits inherent in finding value where others don't see it by encouraging a more open and transparent art sales structure supportive of work being acquired directly from artists utilizing the Internet. 

Author of the books Art: An Emotional and Economic Treasure Trove, and Put Your Assets on the Wall, How Buying What You Love Will Get You The Return You Need, Price believes that art isn't an asset that readily springs to mind when thinking of investment alternatives, but its long-term performance record argues that it should be. Her work helps people to see the investment opportunity that art as an asset class represents, particularly art by emerging artists. Because the work of emerging artists is generally not widely marketed it generally has little price premium, and therefore lacks the risk of the more established, "growth" artists. That relative lack of price premium means that profit potential for these artists can be just as attractive as for the art stars.

Before co-founding her company and beginning her writing career, Price helped spearhead William Blair and Co's development of a value investment discipline and related products for institutional  and mutual fund investors. A partner at the firm, she co-managed assets in the small cap universe, primarily stocks with market capitalizations below $1.5 billion. Prior to that, she was a partner in Brinson Partners, Inc.'s Private Markets and U.S. Equity groups where she spent four years with primary responsibility for co-management of Post-Venture assets. She lives in Chicago with her daughter, her fiancé, and her dogs.
 
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Contrary to what many people believe, intrinsic artistic value does not negate intrinsic economic value. Today, art inspires a significantly higher degree of confidence than many of the nearest AAA-rated financial instruments.

Consider that through 2008, the ten-year compound annual return for investors in the art market was close to 10%, while investors in the S&P 500 actually lost money.

The book titled, "Put Your Assets on the Wall," utilizes the metrics of traditional investments in order to teach people about Art as an alternative asset class, and a way to diversify one's portfolio and hedge against volatility.

"Put Your Assets on the Wall"™ presents the timely analysis that demonstrates art's superior investment performance during inflationary periods throughout history.

The book delineates an additional method for safekeeping and even growing one's assets, particularly during times of economic upheaval and  uncertainty.

In "Put Your Assets on the Wall"™, former small cap value investor turned art entrepreneur Capucine Price helps people to gain an understanding of:

• The role of alternative assets in a portfolio
• Strategies to optimize portfolio performance, including the benefits of hedging with real, tangible assets
• Why less expensive art performs better
• How to invest for any size portfolio.

At this time of severe financial dislocation, almost daily barrage of negative financial news, and loss of confidence in our country's financial bellwethers, "Put Your Assets on the Wall" offers insight into an alternative investment which has stood the test of time, but not been widely known about until now.

Our current time is about optimally positioning oneself for wealth preservation while value is being lost in just about everything else.

Investors may be wary about investing in art because they claim not to understand it. Well, exactly how well do you understand a bond, or an option, or the earnings generating capability of the company whose stock you own? You simply expect whatever instrument it is to appreciate over time, and so you buy it.

Owning art is not necessarily so different. Yes, it should be a visual gift that you give to yourself in addition to its appreciation ability, however, from a pure investment perspective, you’re simply expecting it to appreciate, just like that stock, bond or other derivative you’ve purchased, and art’s historical performance record provides a solid foundation for that expectation.

Wondering if your investment in contemporary art will not only enhance your environment and feed  your soul, but potentially give a goose to your net worth over time? Well the data continues to indicate that yes, an investment in contemporary artists is not only a visual gift your give to yourself, but a sound, and sometimes overwhelmingly profitable investment.

As Wall Street and world financial markets were turned on their heads, an equally  momentous phenomenon also occurred in the artworld. In London, the artist Damien Hirst staged a record auction of work by a single artist, selling $200 million over two days at Sotheby’s. The sale marked the first time that original artwork has gone directly to auction, bypassing the dealer and gallery system altogether. I believe it marks a trend.
 

Image Top Right:
No. 5, 1948 ~ a painting by Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956), an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. The painting was done on an 8' x 4' sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance.  It was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art before being sold to David Geffen and then allegedly to David Martinez in 2006 for $140 million making it the most exspensive painting ever sold.
Source ~ Wikipedia

Image Bottom Left:
Woman III ~ is a painting by abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. Woman III is one of a series of six paintings by de Kooning done between 1951 and 1953 in which the central theme was a woman. It measures 68 by 48 1/2 inches (1.7 m x 1.2 m) and was completed in 1953.  In November 2006, the painting was sold by David Geffen to billionaire Steven A. Cohen for $137.5 million, making it the second most expensive painting ever sold.
Source ~ Wikipedia

        

Today's extraordinary economic events have produced unprecedented monetary and fiscal policy responses. However, as one the architects of our current economic structure himself observed in a much earlier essay:

 "Where store-of-value considerations are important, as they are in richer, more civilized societies...the commodity chosen as a medium must be a luxury...A large volume of new government bonds can be sold to the public only at progressively higher interest rates. As the supply of money increases relative to the supply of tangible assets in the economy, prices must eventually rise. Thus the earnings saved by the productive members of the society lose value in terms of goods...In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation."
-From Gold and Economic Freedom, by Alan Greenspan, 1967

 


"...the policies that government will follow in its efforts to alleviate the current crisis will probably prove inflationary and therefore accelerate declines in the real value of cash accounts."
- Warren Buffett, February 4, 2009

"The man who has honesty, integrity, the love of inquiry, the desire to see beyond, is ready to appreciate good art. He needs no one to give him an 'Art Education'; he is already qualified. He needs but to see pictures with his active mind, look into them for the things that belong to him, and he will find soon enough in himself an art connoisseur and an art lover of the first order." 
- Robert Henri


“Art gives me pleasure...it’s also been a good investment.”
- John McEnroe
 

Image Top Center:
Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre (commonly known as Le Moulin de la Galette) ~  is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpieces. It depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in Paris. In the late 19th century, working class Parisians would dress up and spend time here dancing, drinking, and eating galettes into the evening.

Owned by John Hay Whitney, on May 17, 1990, his widow sold the painting for US$78 million at Sotheby's in New York City, New York to Ryoei Saito (Saitō Ryōei), the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Company, Japan.

At the time of sale, it was one of the top two most expensive artworks ever sold, together with van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet, which was also purchased by Saito. Saito caused international outrage when he suggested in 1991 that he intended to cremate both paintings with him when he died. However, when Saito and his companies ran into severe financial difficulties, bankers who held the painting as collateral for loans arranged a confidential sale through Sotheby's to an undisclosed buyer. Although not known for certain, the painting is believed to be in the hands of a Swiss collector.

The Bal au moulin de la Galette is currently fifth on the list of most expensive paintings ever sold.
Source ~ Wikipedia

Image Center Left:
Portrait of Dr. Gachet (Second Version) ~ is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh and fetched a record price of $82.5 million ($75 million, plus a 10 percent buyer's commission) in 1990.  The Portrait of Dr. Gachet (Second Version) is currently fourth on the list of most expensive paintings ever sold.  There are two authentic versions of this portrait, both painted in June 1890 during the last months of Van Gogh's life. Both show Doctor Gachet sitting at a table and leaning his head onto his right arm, but they are easily differentiated.
Source ~ Wikipedia

Image Bottom Right:
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I ~ is a painting by Gustav Klimt completed in 1907. According to press reports it was sold for US$135 million to Ronald Lauder for his Neue Galerie in New York City in June 2006, which made it at that time the most expensive painting ever sold, today it is the third most expensive.  It has been on display at the gallery since July 2006.
Source ~ Wikipedia