TT: Lookback

From 2003:

I just got back from Sotheby's, where I failed to bring home the bacon--an exquisite 1931 etching by Giorgio Morandi on which I bid unsuccessfully this afternoon--but had an exhilarating, educational, and slightly scary time anyway.

Sotheby's New York is near the eastern end of 72nd Street. As soon as I got there, I went straight to the seventh floor, where I registered and was given a numbered paddle, which you need in order to place bids. (No, you can't accidentally buy a million-dollar painting by scratching your nose at the wrong moment, unless you're dumb enough to scratch it with the paddle.) Much to my surprise, all I had to do was show a photo ID. I wasn't asked to furnish proof of solvency. Had I wanted, I could have bankrupted myself several times over, and no one would have been the wiser until it came time to settle the tab....

Read the whole thing here .