Last week saw Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi fetch a record-breaking $450.3 million ($400 million plus auction fees) at Christie’s. The latest theory is “...this is not another billionaire seized with an irrational exuberance who has made a nine-figure check, but two investment funds acting in concert and in connection with several major museums.” This line of thinking implies the purchase of the Salvator Mundi was a rational investment with an expected return.

My first thought? How many top works by the world’s most important female artists could you have purchased with $450 million? What if investors, museums, and collectors went in together on investing in art by women instead of a single Leonardo Da Vinci painting that few would argue is even his best work?

To state the obvious, auction values are a reflection of the bias of the collectors, not a reflection of the talent of the artists. That said, the work of female artists is woefully undervalued at auction. This is not a unique insight on my part.