Do 'Stan' by for a new genre of art

Last month, we noted that Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex was befittingly right up there with the most expensive works of art at the preview for a Christie’s sale of 20th-century art. That he predated his fellow items on the catalogue by about 67 million years was irrelevant as the fact that he was a work of genius (albeit not human) was undeniable. However, now that the dinosaur skeleton has fetched almost four times its estimated price of $6-8 million at a gullet-choking $31,847,500 at the sale last week, it is evident the auction house had put Stan in the wrong list. He should have been there with those chunks of carbon and other fossilised remains that are cut, polished, set and sold, otherwise known as gemstones.

More so as the T-rex roared in an auction that otherwise saw eight unsold and four works withdrawn out of a total of 59, fetching the second-highest price of the sale. Stan has established fossils as a valuable new genre of installation art.

As the Royal Opera House in the UK currently mulls hocking its David Hockney to tide over its pandemic triggered downturn, many museums may now realise that they are sitting on piles of money rather than mere ancient bones. And, given that Stan’s buyer is reportedly an unexpected collector from the Middle East, the market for palaeontological art, so to speak, is bigger than many realise.