"I never looked at it as an investment," Lars Ulrich says in Some Kind of Monster, as he walks through Christie's on the night that one of his Basquiats -- "Profit I", from 1982 -- fetches $5.5. million dollars. "But . . . the other guys would take a big pile of money and park it in a bank, while I would take a big pile of money and park it on my wall."
We all know Lars is not the most talented guy in Metallica. Nor is he the most metrosexual guy in Metallica. But today he is most likely the richest guy in Metallica. And he's about to get a bit richer: despite Suze Orman's "don't sell anything!" mantra, Lars is about to unload another Basquiat -- "Untitled (Boxer)", also from '82 -- and was nice enough to give the New York Times a sales pitch:
“Of course it’s an awkward time to sell, but I’ve always been about taking chances,” Mr. Ulrich said. “I have a lot of faith in the art market,” he added. “It’s perhaps the last frontier where the best of the best will not go the way of the rest of the economy.” Recently his collecting has gone in a different direction, he said. Rather than relying on auctions, he has begun scouring galleries, buying the work of emerging artists.
“Of course it’s an awkward time to sell, but I’ve always been about taking chances,” Mr. Ulrich said.
“I have a lot of faith in the art market,” he added. “It’s perhaps the last frontier where the best of the best will not go the way of the rest of the economy.” Recently his collecting has gone in a different direction, he said. Rather than relying on auctions, he has begun scouring galleries, buying the work of emerging artists.