Wednesday, December 17, 2014

ARTicle of interest: Norman Rockwell's The Coin Toss




Dallas is home to many priceless works of art. Some hang in museums, many reside in public spaces for anyone to view and others live in private collections - like the Norman Rockwell painting above. According to ESPN, it hangs on the living room wall of Jerry Jones estimated $20 million mansion in Dallas' posh Highland Park suburb. The painting is called "Coin Toss." With a football cradled in his left arm, his right thumb raised and his eyes aimed heavenward, Rockwell's pear-shaped referee, flanked by skinny football players, flips a coin that hangs in midair. The image was the cover of The Saturday Evening Post dated Oct. 21, 1950. "I bought this painting in 1989 right after buying the Cowboys," Jones says, "I had no money left -- I mean, nothing. But Ross Perot collects Rockwells and he told me this one was too good to pass up so I somehow scraped together $1.1 million." Recently, Jones says, auction house Christie's appraised "Coin Toss" at $18.5 million. "Nothing I've ever owned has appreciated that much," Jones says. Proving once again that he is one savvy business mogul.