That is Priceless by Steve Melcher for January 03, 2019

The microfilm was exactly where his informant told him it would be.

“Wait a minute. This is no Picasso, he’s only 4 years old right now!”

“Oriental rug and fabric shop going out of business! EVERYTHING 50-70% off!!”

“So THAT’s what she meant by the Kama Sutra.”

Behind this person there seems to be a spectral hand in the shadows.

Mondrian? Who the heck is Mondrian?

Cellphones finally reaching their size limits.

The studio is in shambles, but, having won his knock down, drag out battle with the giant plaster bust, Maurice savors the fruits of his victory.

Love the squid wallpaper.

“Wow, how wonderful and thoughtful of you to give me this for Christmas” (all the while thinking ’ What the hell is this and where do I put it?’)

That looks like Mark Twain!

Like everything else, Victor’s handheld device was larger than normal.

There’s an oval pizza in this box!

Note on the reverse reads;

“If you have to look for a price, you can’t afford me.”

Okay, so you don’t like it. Doesn’t mean you have to kick everything over.

The connoisseur: 

https://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=254575 

(best viewed by Google Chrome which can automatically translate most pages as necessary) has info and links that point to info about this roughly B5 paper size painting.

http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00036470 

has very sparse info about this artist, perhaps in addition to what’s pointed to by the first URL. Since a bronze bust of him resides in a French museum, perhaps those who read French can find more that Chrome doesn’t automatically translate (even with Google Translate added to chrome://extensions/). This is the first work by him used here.

Again, a larger strip image is shown by clicking the image in Mr. Melcher’s MASTERPIECE #2108 (January 2, 2018) blog entry, accessible by the Check out the blog! box after the last comment.

After wrecking the place Jerome finally found his laptop.

Man inventing the first postcard.

“Yes. Spending the money for large business cards will pay off handsomely!”

I always wonder why the artist has ‘stuff’ around on the floor, a table, a couch, whatever. Is it just to fill up the canvas? Surely they have time to pick up the room before he/she starts painting. And no comments that the room is too heavy to pick up.

If 1875 were post-industrial, we’d be in business.

Jason, examining his new acquisition, and thinking if it would be better casually dropped in a corner, as if to say that he is too rich to worry about such frivolities, or if he should put it under a pile of other stuff, to imply that it is beneath his superior taste. Squalor is not easy when your daddy left you his millions

Hmmm, Made in China!

Samuel Clemmens as an art critic?