The 25th February 1862 holds the dubious honour of being the date the US Bureau of Engraving & Printing was formed by Congress to print & issue paper currency in the USA.
Let that sink in.
They did it on purpose.
Someone thought it’d be a good idea & for the time, it probably made sense. But they surely couldn’t have known how things would end up. Maybe early capitalists from every country would have been excited about the state of the world right now but like many others, I just feel that the capitalists we’ve got these days have taken it too far. Let’s face it, for the majority of citizens & as experiments go, it’s a ghastly failure.
A blog about money in art could take another form of course, however the price of works, the awfulness of the corporate art world & the concept of art as commodity are the subjects of blogs I’m unlikely to ever write. It’s all simply too depressing, depraved & disgusting. & utterly meaningless. There are no pockets in a shroud, as people like to say. You can’t take it with you when you go. The art we buy & create has the potential to last a lot longer than any of us.
But we’re looking today at the actual cash, money, notes or coins being visible in the works of art. Whether the artist is trying to teach us a lesson or saying something about themselves or the world around us, it’s a compelling subject that has preoccupied humans for a very long time.
Sharon Craven Kinzer (1943-2022), Money 03
Kinzer’s work has the feeling of Old Master trompe-l’oeil paintings, where an optical illusion tricks you into seeing the objects as real.
Victor Dubreuil (1880-1910) Barrels of Money, c. 1897
If someone was to have painted this a hundred years later, you might think it a comment on the price of oil. Good art with a universal idea can span the centuries & reach out to new, modern audiences.
Steve Mills, Gratuity, 2018
Steve Mills’s beautiful photoreal depiction of money on an outside table shows coins & notes that have clearly been used. They bear the creases & scruffiness of cash that has changed hands many times. It leaves you wondering whether the tip that has been left for wait staff was a generous one. I find it interesting to consider that at some point in the future it will seem hopelessly stingy regardless, as the prices of food & drink continue to sky-rocket.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987), Dollar Sign
Yes, I know there's no actual cash & it’s so self-referencing it’s barely even a concept any more. I'm okay with it. There are of course many Warhols that allude to money & general consumerism as well as many in the “dollar sign” series. As an artwork though, I find the colours in this image especially pleasing. I also enjoy the subtext of using a fool’s gold colour for the top dollar sign. Up close, the scratchiness of the print gives us the relatable, human element & hints at the sleaze & grubbiness of modern finance.
Petrus Christus (active 1444, died 1475/6), A Goldsmith in his Shop, 1449
There is obviously a narrative to this painting & we can probably work it out for ourselves…or it’s fun to invent your own. In any case, the things I’m curious about are these: what sort of ring the goldsmith is weighing, what is the somewhat alarmed goldsmith looking at & who are the couple in the mirror bottom right…? Rather than wonder about some of the finer details of the image & in order to understand them better, I recommend this interesting & short read:
Italian (Sienese) School, Treasury Official in a Monk’s Habit Counting Money at a Table (Sienese account book cover), c. 1310
I’ve resisted posting one of the many Jesus & the Moneylenders paintings that exist & I don’t think even Jesus would deny a guy trying to make ends meet. I like to think he’s been collecting for repairs to the monastery roof. That’s where all the cash goes, right?
Salomon Koninck (1609-1656) An Old Man Weighing Coins
Beautifully painted, beautifully lit & probably a comment on the futility of money-gathering. Nevertheless, we don’t know what he’s weighing it for. At one time this particular subject was referred to as a miser – well going by this image, he’s got nothing on the misers of today.
Charles M Jones, Tossin’ (Tossing of Coins), 1989
I like the simple quality & loose brushwork of this painting & it’s nice to see those coins being put to another use. There are lots of pieces in the art world that depict people gambling or playing games of chance for money but for me this is one of the more intriguing. What are they tossing the coin for? What will result from the outcome being heads or tails? Are those more coins on the ground? Who benefits? The figures all look interested enough & nervous enough…
Field & Allan (active 1870-1900) & James Tennant Lyon (1836-1872) The Lost Silver, 1865
This roundel was designed for Trinity Church in Irvine by James Tennant Lyon & made by Field & Allan of Leith. The lesson of the Lost Coin parable seems to me much like the Prodigal Son or the Lost Sheep. Frankly Jesus was phoning it in; some of his stories are so obviously recycled. I suppose it’s not as if everyone was going to hear them, so perhaps he simply changed the story to suit the audience. Talking to a bunch of tax collectors, tell the Lost Coin. A group of shepherds have walked in? The Lost Sheep should do it. Whatever the situation, he’s fishing for followers & reckons his dad won’t give up on any of us, miserable sinners or no.
James Elder Christie (attributed to) (1847-1914) Old Man with Gold Coins
Incredibly hit-you-over-the-head type of metaphor alert. We’re back to lack of pockets in shrouds, can’t take it with you when you go territory. To be honest, that seems like a good place to finish.
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