I was a fine art dealer for many years, primarily representing American artist estates. Fine art is a very broad category. My favorite period is impressionism, but I also appreciate some modern art - I'm not a big Picasso fan, except for his very early work, but I love the work of Matisse. Understand that a lot of very expensive works have been pushed by dealers. A very good book to give you an overall view of what the types of art there are is the Annotated Mona Lisa - I have the 1992 edition which you can pick up fairly cheap. I often told people that Modern Art is an acquired taste; I usually used the example of dill pickles. I hated them at first, now I love them.

I have a very good friend who hated any Modern Art - I once brought in a very colorful Abstract to my office and hung it upside down. I then wrote down what he would say: "The artist must of been having a very bad day - my grandchildren could paint something better than that, etc."I said did you really look at it, he said sure. I then said I guess you missed the artist's signature is upside down. He walked off in a huff.

With the advent of digital and programs such as Photoshop, photos are often now nothing about realty. We can modify nature, making it brighter or darker, as seen or distorted. Often these big prices paid for works are about one-man upmanship; one collector buying something that another collector wanted. My late partner used to get ticked at me when I told clients that they should look around and see what they like; collect what you like. You might lose the one sale, but you probably made a client for like.

If you get a chance take a look at the book, you might just find something you like. I often use what I've seen to affect what I photo. PS If you want to know my favorite painting it's here: https://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/101764.html. If you want me to explain why, I really couldn't tell you. I try to visit once or twice a year. Apologies for the long note.