Leading Off (Kimbell Item), Ctd.

As Tim noted, the Kimbell won’t cough up how much it paid for Michelangelo’s The Torment of St. Anthony. What we do know is that the Cowtown museum had an endowment of $350 million in February–down from $466 million last year–and that some of its previous acquisitions sent “shock waves” through the art community. (Like, when it ponied up $1.6 million for a 5th century B.C. vase back in 2000.) Art economist David Kusin, president of Dallas’ Kusin & Co., says private outfits like the Kimbell are under no requirement to disclose such info. Kusin himself declines to estimate Torment’s cost, but says it’s unlikely the Kimbell got the painting for a song, despite the recession. “Works of that scarcity are really not affected by momentary or seasonal changes in the macroeconomy,” he says.