Slim Pickings

Out of Reach...in private hands
Ultrawealthy aficionados like Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, Microsoft honcho Bill Gates and director Steven Spielberg are likely to hang on to the paintings they’ve shelled out millions for. Not only are they immune to the prospect of profits, but they buy American art as an expression of national identity.

Asher B. Durand, "Kindred Spirits" (1849)
Owner: Alice Walton

Courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas