The Commentariat Weighs In

In response to the Maria Bartiromo painting Anonymous writes ...

and mean spirited is why you haven't sold the goddam painting....who the fuck knows or cares who her lover was/ is...let her stand on her own merits...a true beauty...you get to caught up in the media frenzy...fine art is made of composition, not distraction

This I find annoying on several levels.

First, the painting sold nicely, thank you.

Second, as the leading face of CNBC and one of the most influential electronic journalists covering Wall Street, there is a very real concern about, at the minimum, the appearance of conflict of interest.  The New York Times devotes a thousand or so words to the very question here and additional coverage in other pieces.  Likewise Time Magazine here.  CNN, etc.  So it's not like the question wasn't worth asking in a serious manner.  Or painting.

If the two of them were just average people, you'd be right in asking who knows or cares.  But they're not.  She's an influential journalist who covers Citigroup.  He was the CFO of the Citigroup Wealth Management Unit ... and, just so we're clear, he got fired because of it.  So as a subject for my work it all seems right on point.

But the painting evolved past the Thompson stuff because, as noted, I thought it was mean-spirited.  Which is a good thing, not a bad thing.  So shut the fuck up.

Third, fine art is made of a lot of things.  Just so we're also clear on that as well.

Next question, please.

I love it when you get in a big lather.
Sorry.  The comment aggravated me.  I don't need to be lectured on what fine art is.
I'm reminded of that de Kooning quote.
Which one?
It went, from memory, "They don't know what it's like.  They don't know it's like jumping off a 12 story building every day."
Great quote.  It should probably be noted that my work is rarely confused with de Kooning's.
Duly noted.  Though not material to the subject at hand.