THE PASSING OF LEGENDS
Unlike the rest of us — whose names might one day be noted only by cemetery visitors stepping around our tombstones — some artists have the rare privilege of being acknowledged into the distant future thanks to their lasting creations. As their admirers, we rightly hope to own such a treasure. More likely, museums proudly hang the works of these masters, and so some, like Rembrandt, who died exactly 350 years ago, remain very much with us. Hundreds of volumes about this Dutch genius have been published, and hopefully our collective interest in him will endure. A couple of years ago, when a well-known artist friend of mine passed away, I mentioned to an art expert that the artist’s prices would soon soar, to which he responded, “Not true.” Naturally I wondered…