"War and Peace", "Led Zeppelin", "Olympia", "Lunch on the Grass", "Night Walk", "Sistine Madonna", "The Academy of Athens", ......

The elevator doors open.

Sir Brown walked with a steady stride to his separate office at the end of the corridor.

The day after the end of the shareholders' meeting.

The chairman of the board of directors couldn't wait to dispose of the portrait of the old earl who had been an eye-catcher in his office for a long time.

Citizens could not run to the chairman's office and hold up signs in protest.

So.

Unlike the difficult sculpture that had to be brought in a crane, the portrait that had been hanging on the wall for nearly a century at the order of Sir Brown obediently lay in the corner of the storeroom and ate ashes.

"Finally, no one is talking about everything that happens here about art."

Funny.

What right does she have to stand on the moral high ground and reprimand me? How did the Elena family get their wealth and land? You can't just draw and draw.

At the moment when the nasty portrait is taken off.

Sir Brown was suddenly refreshed, and there was a sense of lightness in turning over as a serf and being the master of the house.

However, after looking at the original office for a long time, the empty walls always look like something is missing.

The magazine has just taken the first step in reform.

After all, Sir was not too embarrassed to have an entire portrait of himself on the wall.

He asked the workers to set up a display case.

THE LATE QUEEN'S OBE MEDAL AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE IS DISPLAYED SIDE BY SIDE WITH THREE MAJOR AHCI-LEVEL MAGAZINES, SUCH AS AFRICAN ARTS, BURLINGTON MAGAZINE, AND CONNAISSANCE DES ARTS, WHICH HAVE PUBLISHED THEIR OWN PAPERS.

These four things are the greatest pride of his life.

As long as you step into the magazine and see these mountain-like academic honors, you will immediately know that he is not Anna's yellow-haired little girl who may not even grow hair.

He has sufficient academic level and social experience to take on the responsibility of the head of the oil painting magazine.

As for the walls of his office and the corridor outside, he took the latent meaning of "New Era Magazine is not owned by Elena and one surname, and the master is with me", and hung imitations of famous paintings from all over the world.

Whenever Sir Brown walked through this corridor, it was as if he were inspecting the subjects of his domain.

Picasso, Manet, Monet, Menzel, Rembrandt, Giorgione, and other artists who were once the most prominent artists have all been lost to history.

Now he is the biggest king in the whole art market.

You can do it to whoever you want, and you can support whoever you want.

Sir Brown's good mood was quietly clouded when he opened the door of his office and saw the worried chubby, round face of the Metropolitan Museum's chief art adviser behind his seat.

"Hleife shareholder. The commotion in front of the magazine is just a small storm that can't be put on the table, so there is no need to worry so much. ”

Sir Brown set up the bone china tea set, and said calmly as he put the baked black tea bag into the tea cup.

The chairman thinks this guy is making a bit of a fuss.

He was going to have lunch with the director of the New Art Center at noon today to discuss the annual meeting, but he received a shouting call from this guy, and some very important things asked to meet and discuss in detail.

The chairman had no choice but to shirk the entertainment and rushed back by car.

"The noise in front of the magazine?"

"No, I'm not coming to you for such trivialities." The Hhelaifi shareholder shook his head, "Sir, I've been following it for a few days, and it might be a little bit bad, you'd better take the time to take a look at this." ”

The shareholder took out a set of opened solid wood boxes from his handbag.

He cleared the table, opened the lid of the box, and placed all the contents of the box on the table in turn.

A fairy tale book, a small doll, a set of illustrations and postcards.

"The Little Prince commemorative gift box has sold nearly 1,200 sets in the UK, and what you see in front of you is one of the ones I bought."

Helaifi tapped on the table.

"1200 sets?"

Sir Brown took a sip of his tea, subtly suppressing the shock of hearing the news.

He swept his gaze over the box.

At the shareholders' meeting, he had already seen the new detective cat book in Miss Elena's hand.

However, at this time, seeing it quietly placed on the table in front of him, without the concern of camera shooting, Sir Brown's eyes also showed a moment of appreciation.

Don't talk about those who have and don't.

The illustrations in this book are really beautiful.

Can......

The number of 1,200 sets sold in the collector's box alone is still Chairman Brown's mood chuckled.

It's only been a few days since it was on sale!

"Don't worry, it's probably because The Little Prince itself has more readers. After all, it is a best-selling book in the world, and it is not difficult to find a thousand readers in the whole of Britain who love Saint-Exupéry......"

Sir Brown maintained his apparent composure.

Halfway through his words, he still looked at Helaifi opposite him and pursed his lips, and couldn't help but emphasize.

"Didn't I get the shareholders to get the relationship and sing the book down in the mainstream art magazines? And I asked you to contact Professor Boggs at the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts to write a special art review, has it been published now? ”

Sir Brown has a lot of opportunities.

The appointment of a new personnel structure, the establishment of a foundation under the magazine, and the preparation of the annual art conference attended by the president and dignitaries of the city of Glitz as the local host......

The extremely important schedule follows one after the other.

He really did not postur in the face of reporters' interviews and speeches.

Now, even some billion-dollar and wealthy people who are interested in investing in art want to meet with Sir Brown, and they may have to make an appointment until two weeks later.

The emperor will not care about the fate of a beggar.

Detective cats, who are not on the table, are really not worth being missed by the head of "Oil Painting" magazine.

He just instructed the shareholders to guide public opinion a little, and then went about his own affairs.

The chairman also laughed at Anna's wishful thinking of relying on a fairy tale book to turn the tables in his heart.

Some of the collectors who can really spend a lot of money to decide the direction of the art market choose to believe in their own eyes, and some choose to trust authority. At the end of the day, when the two diverge, the vast majority of buyers will still choose to trust authority.

What can guide the market price of a collection is always the accolades of art criticism magazines, the awards at the Biennale, and the shortlist of the Turner and Barcelona Watercolor Awards.

In the most secular field of illustration, the real convincing awards are actually the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the Writing and Art Master Award, and the Belgian Golden Key Award.

These are the only things that can really turn a linen canvas that costs a few euros into a rising turnover in the art market.

And not something "I look at it".

The aesthetic winds were in Sir Brown's hands, and he had nothing to worry about.

Just in case.

Sir Brown also cautiously asked the shareholders of Hleifeld, who are very well connected in the American art world, to contact Professor Boggs, an expert in the field of knife painting, to write an art review.

Specifically used to criticize the shortcomings of the detective cat painting.

Even the only painter among the world's seven billion people who can sell a knife painting for more than $50,000 has denied the detective cat.

A small number of painting speculation who want to engage in art speculation will also put away their undue thoughts.

In particular, "The Little Prince" is a world famous book.

A little manipulation of public opinion can make the market think that its low sales are dragged down by the detective cat, and the high sales are well written by Saint-Exupéry.

Only that kind of explosive sales, which are almost miraculous, can shake the authoritative evaluation of art criticism.

It's only been a few days since it went on sale, and the Collector's Edition has sold 1,200 copies?

Having 1,200 paying buyers isn't a big explosion, but it's not a great start.

The sales cycle of a book is long.

If the scalper team who likes to hype the hand-made gift box notices that the book "The Little Prince" has a certain popularity, I am afraid that the sales will be higher and higher in the future.

"Professor Boggs denied my request." The Hleifi shareholders shook their heads.

"No! Why would he refuse? Any painter would like to be able to please us at Oil Painting magazine, and now this opportunity is in front of him! Sir Brown frowned and said displeasedly.

"That's right. Professor Boggs had already agreed to my invitation last week, and he would have been happy to have my personal friendship. Suddenly changed his mind again, and it happened to be the second day of the release of "The Little Prince". ”

Boggs didn't say it explicitly, but listened to the underlying meaning of his words...... I always felt that he might be a little ...... Afraid. ”

The small eyes under Hleife's round glasses wandered, recalling the strange tone of Professor Boggs's phone call.

Afraid?

What is there to be afraid of writing an art review.

Unless.

In Professor Boggs's mind, he saw a flawless work of art that looked like a masterpiece of God.

"Bad seeds. The better the detective cat draws, the more he should stand up at this point. Knife painting is so unpopular, and the share of the art market is very small. He wouldn't like to have one more master of painting and share his own interests! ”

"It's not convenient for you to lobby more, but in a few months, if he writes well, we can consider giving him a positive interview in Oil Painting."

The chairman of the board of directors commanded in a deep voice.

Originally, a mid-level painter like Professor Boggs, whose average price was only tens of thousands of dollars, Sir Brown was useful to the other party by giving him face.

Dare to refuse without knowing what to do.

The chairman didn't bother to deal with the other party at all, and he didn't even bother to put his fingers on small shoes for such a small character.

Three-legged toads are hard to find, and great painter friends who are willing to serve him Sir Brown are everywhere.

But the detective cat draws a knife drawing.

Boggs is the only academic authority in the field who can be named, and it is best for him to raise the flag to attack the detective cat.

Sir Brown was only then patient and allowed to take advantage.

"I don't think it will have much effect, and I vaguely revealed on the phone before that I am willing to consider holding a solo art exhibition in New York for him in exchange."

Khelaifi shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he knew that he could not afford to lose the matter of "The Little Prince", so he had made a big promise.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is the most influential art group in New York and North America.

A painter like Boggs, who is limited by the subject matter of the dwarf general, if he has the opportunity to have a solo art exhibition managed by Hleife himself, it can almost have the effect of a carp jumping over the dragon gate.

I can't even take off the hat of "niche painter", and my value has been greatly improved.

The allure here is no less than a front-page interview in Oil Painting magazine.

"An article can get a chance to open a solo exhibition, he can't be impressed, this guy is crazy." Sir Brown was also shocked.

"Heartbeat, of course he's very excited. I could hear the knife artist's breathing in the phone receiver getting short. ”

"And it turned out to be a refusal?"

Yes, there was silence for three minutes, and still refused. He replied—"

Hlaifi rubbed his fat hands, "It's not a matter of interest, it's only about art. He's 65 years old, has a tenured professorship, and doesn't want to be used as an after-dinner conversation for posterity by attacking an illustration that could go down in history. ”

Crash –

There was a crunch in the office chair.

"Sir Brown? You're okay. Helaifi looked worriedly at the decent old man across the table.

Sir Brown sat there without saying a word.

Hélaifi could see that the other man's hand was holding the teacup because it was too hard, and his fingertips were slightly white.

The lake-colored tea water ripples like the tide of the sea.

The chief consultant has known the academic Taishan Beidou for many years, and has been favored by both the European Art Association and the Austrian National Publishing Group, and has been hired as the head of the oil painting magazine.

His political wisdom was as deep as his academic achievements.

In Hleifi's impression, the old friend has always been a conspirator old fox who is not very angry, and such a gaffe scene is the first time in his life.

"I, I'm fine, I'm fine." Sir Brown took a deep breath and slowly placed his teacup on the table, "Illustrations that are enough to go down in the annals of art history, it's enough to elevate this detective cat." ”

What really made Sir Brown react violently was not actually the praise of the detective cat from perhaps the world's most prestigious knife painting professor at the moment.

It's the other party's sentence - it's not a matter of interest, it's only about art.

"Everything that happens in this office is about art."

Sir Brown's ears resounded irrepressibly with the sonorous crisp voice of the last time he had met Anna in this office, before she turned away.

Between entering the door, he was still proudly removing all the marks of the Elena family.

As a result, in an instant, reality slapped Jazz in the face.

He was able to take Eliot's vulgar illustrations as a child's means of playing a house, and he did not take it seriously.

And this fluttering sentence almost broke the old sir's defense.

Dead memories began to attack him—it was like some haunting curse, some entangled prophecy.

Are you kidding!

Even if the illustration of the detective cat really has the ability to go down in history. If he is an enemy, Sir Brown will also use an ink pen to smear it with his own hands.

The chairman's left hand involuntarily clenched into a fist, as if he wanted to crush the fear in his heart that should not exist.

(End of chapter)