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----------------------------Original message---------------------------- By searching Aristotle and Rembrandt together on Yahoo I found that Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer was purchased in 1961 for 2.3 million dollars - the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction at that time. Even more interesting I thought was the subject of the article in which I found this info. It's old news but somehow I missed it last year. It seems that in March 1996 Southeby's sold a piece of 18th c. needlework by a 21 year old girl for $1.15 million! We've come a long way, baby! The idea of just putting Hannah Otis and Rembrandt in the same discussion would have been unheard of in 1961! For those interested in the article I searched Rembrandt and Aristotle together on Yahoo and got http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/articles/hann0396.htm In 1753 Hannah Otis worked a scene involving the Hancock family on canvas. Her descendants had the needlework on loan at the Boston MFA since 1954 and when they decided to sell it the Museum purchased it for the record sum. Explosions go off in my head when I remember art history department meetings breaking up because a feminist was demanding that women be on the syllabus; when I think of Judy Chicago's projects; Womanhouse; futile searching for sources of slides of works by women; the Los Angeles County Museum show with its pink catalogue; deciding if female or woman could be a search element on the database; trying to integrate fibres and needlework into the main collection instead of segregated off to the side; complaints that folk museums showed signed needlework as anonymous (The artist was anonymous) and when I realize that many students today don't even know how it was back then!!!! Boggles the mind to be getting old enough to remember history! Linda [log in to unmask]