Illustrator: Benjamin Bours; Animator: Steph Davidson
Ever Bought Art on a Cruise? Prepare to Be Seasick
Park West, the biggest art gallery in the world, knows how to sell at sea—where there’s bad Wi-Fi and plenty of Champagne.
Among the passengers gathered for the art auction, the guy sitting in front of me seemed the most likely to have attended just for the free booze. The advertisements left in our staterooms had promised Champagne, and amid the smart polo shirts and sundresses, this middle-aged man stood out as exceptionally casual: a white tank top with a faded “Virginia Beach” graphic, black athletic shorts, and a blue baseball cap pulled down close to his eyeglasses. It was 11:15 a.m., and our cruise ship, the Norwegian Epic, was transiting the strait between Sardinia and Corsica, taking almost 6,000 passengers and crew on an eastward course to mainland Italy. As the auction staff ushered in potential bidders, a waiter approached with a silver tray of bubbly. The man in the tank top scooped up a flute. “Breakfast!” he said.
Before bidding could start, the auctioneer instructed us to explore scores of artworks set up on easels around the room—impressionistic seasides, twee cottages by Thomas Kinkade, the Statue of Liberty as rendered by Peter Max, and a surreal composition featuring an anthropomorphic cocktail olive.