Seems to me that drawings are on a tear, much as sculptures have been for the last several years. Oils have long outpaced works on paper and 3-D objects, by more than I would have expected. Of late however there has been a meteoric rise in the value of works in both of these laggards. Three very high-end sculptures have recently been sold (the $100M+ Giacometti, and a Matisse and a Modigliani each topping $40M), which is a big step in correcting this market disparity. (Picasso sculptures have topped out at just under $30M, more because of lack of availability than desirability, I believe.) With drawings, it might be too soon to be conclusive, given the small number of recent high-end sales. But yesterday’s sale of a small black chalk Raphael drawing for just under $48M, in addition to the small black-and-white Picasso work on paper described in my last post (The Results are In ), are hopefully the beginning of a long-overdue trend. This 37 cm Raphael, as you may have heard, is a world’s auction record for a work on paper.