National Press Club Fetches Millions With Sale Of Rockwell Painting

Published November 19, 2015 at 1:40 PM EST

The winning bid at Christie's for "Norman Rockwell Visits a Country Editor" was $10.2 million. (press.org)

Christie’s auction house in New York is auctioning off some great American artworks today, including a Norman Rockwell painting that belonged to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. As the price of art soars, the press club was confident it would make millions off the sale. The winning bid: $10.2 million ($11.6 million with buyer’s premium).

NPR’s senior business editor Marilyn Geewax joins Here & Now‘s Indira Lakshmanan to discuss the club’s decision to send the painting to auction. Geewax is also a board member of the National Press Club, and believe it reflects the growing cost of insuring pieces of art like this and the need for non-profits to get creative about raising money.

Guest

Marilyn Geewax, senior business editor at NPR and a board member at the National Press Club. She tweets @GeewaxNPR.