Living Artist Record

Believe it or not, this abstract daub by 80-year-old German artist Gerhard Richter has broken the auction record for a work by a living artist (CLICK). Abstraktes Bild (1994) fetched £21m ($34m) at Sotheby's in London this week. Not that Richter gets paid that. The lion's share goes to Cream guitarist Eric Clapton, worth an estimated £140m, making him the 17th richest British musician. There is something very wrong with our taxation system that allows a rock guitarist to amass such a vast fortune. As for the art market...!