Most artists would probably drop at his feet and he's certainly the "art collector's" collector.

Have you heard? Ronald S. Lauder (yes, one of Estee's boys) just dropped a record $135 million on a painting! Okay, let's break this down. First of all, if you can shell out $135 million for ANYTHING, let alone a painting, you're set for life. But what actually makes a painting (or anything else) worth $135 million? More on that in a moment.

I've just finished reading a New York Times article (June 19, 2006) about the masterpiece in question, "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," which journalist Carol Vogel describes as "a dazzling gold-flecked 1907 portrait" by Gustav Klimt. It's a painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer, who some think may have had a romance with Klimt. Anyway, Lauder reportedly bought the piece for his Neue Galerie in New York City. The gallery specializes in German and Austrian fine art. Perfect. This painting has quite a pedigree. You can read up on it for yourself. You'll certainly find it on Google. In a nutshell, the Klimt painting and four others had been the focus of a "custody" battle (ultimately, most paintings are orphans) between the Austrian government and Los Angeles-based Maria Altmann and family. Altmann is a niece of Mrs. Bauer. The story, dating back to World War II, involves Germany, Austria, the Nazis, annexation, looting, Mrs. Bauer's husband Ferdinand fleeing Austria and yes, leaving behind what has become the even more famous $135 million painting.

Hollywood could probably get a movie out of the courtroom battles and final judgement alone.

I saw a photograph of the painting on the news and before reading the Times article, I asked myself, "What makes a painting worth $135 million?" I asked pretty much the same thing during all of the previous hub-bub over Pablo Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe" selling for $104 million in 2004.

Too bad artists aren't clairvoyant.

In the case of Mr. Lauder, the Klimt piece likely has immense personal and historical value. Perhaps Mr. Lauder considered his personal heritage, his love of art and dedication as an art patron, and maybe also great love of art history preservation. Oh, and maybe he just likes the painting. Hey, if you've got $135 million in your wallet, why not? Still, it makes me wonder how much I could buy with $135 million. You could buy roughly, 135 paintings for a million bucks each! Or you could invest it wisely, live off the interest and still buy great art. Clearly, these silly reveries are the domain of poor collectors.

It's funny because these days, you don't hear much about the artistic merits of a piece. When it comes to valuing art, peripheral things like prior ownership, personal histories and artists' life stories often come into play. That's not to say that the Klimt piece isn't worthy of its masterpiece status, mind you.

You do often hear people describe masterpieces as "priceless." Yet, at the end of the day, a painting (again, like anything else) is worth whatever the seller is willing to sell it for ... and what the buyer is willing to pay.

In this case, it ain't chump change.