At first I thought I was being a bit too sensitive here. It is not like the report was literally suggesting the main reason collectors would buy a painting by an amazing female artist like Jenny Saville is because there were simply not enough paintings by male “superstars” like Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, right?

Oh, but then I read on, and it couldn’t be more clear that that is exactly what the report is trying to suggest.

Meanwhile, as supply of their (Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud) major paintings has become restricted, buyers who feel priced out might be tempted by the psychologically charged, fleshy paintings produced by the younger, female British artist Jenny Saville.

There’s lots wrong with this. First off, positioning Jenny Saville as a consolation prize or last resort for those who can’t acquire work by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud implies her work is inferior. We would not accept this type of comparison in other industries. For example, when Marry T. Barra was named CEO of GM, it would have been absurd and insulting to suggest it must have been due to scarcity of male CEO candidates. So why should this same logic be acceptable in the art world?

Worse, it turns out the number of works at auction by Bacon and Freud has actually increased over the last three years, and during that same time period, paintings by Saville have been as or more scarce at auction.