Fine Art’s Lesson for Brands & Their Marketers

The following is a lesson from Leadership Laboratory; a private group of 100 leaders around the world who are seeking to grow their leadership capacity. For more information, head to HoldTheStandard.com.

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David Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold in 2018 for $90.3 million dollars. It was the most sum paid for a painting from a living artist.

The $90 million dollar question is, what makes fine art valuable?

Frankly, when you look at Hockney’s work, like many fine artists, your first reaction might be the obvious:There are better paintings out there from a skill perspective.

You could say it’s because they are rare, which is true. Except, I’ve personally painted only five or six canvases myself and those hold less value than if the canvases were blank, so rarity alone doesn’t explain the value either.

The value in fine art, then, is NOT:

a contest of technical skill, difficulty, or talent
a simple play on scarcity.

The most critical, value creating element of an artist in my opinion is their brand.

Now, before the pitchforks come out, let me explain.

I’m not here to degrade the arts to just commerce and branding in a conventional sense. However, the style of an artist must emerge as a recognizable element in order to break through in a commercially viable way. Period. It can’t just be great art. It must be great art that can be attributed to the artist.

Picassos look like Picassos. Matisse works look like Matisse. Van Gogh looks like Van Gogh. And, those styles are singular.

This is validated in the street art scene, as well. Those who transcend graffiti into true viability in the gallery art scene are those with a through-line of a unique style that the observer can connect one of their works to the next. Retna, Banksy, and Risk all have become collector artists because of a style.

So, what does this mean for marketers and brands?

Most marketers feel a burden to make great images, packaging, assets, etc, but few place enough weight in creating singularity in style.The single most important value creating thing you can do as a marketer is to create a style that is teaching your audience that it’s in fact you when they see your work in the world.

If you want a viable brand, consider less about making it beautiful or technically brilliant. Rather answer this one question:

Do people know it when they see it?

TAKE ACTION:

AUDIT. Look at your marketing and comms. Is there a dramatic sense of your organization’s style? Has the positive intent of polish and professionalism taken over where singular style could punch through the noise better?
PRACTICE. Define brand specific texture, voice, and signals that can make you less like the noise around you and more like yourself.

8/7/25 WOD

DEUCE Athletics GPP

Complete 4 rounds of the following:
8 Staggered Stance Barbell RDL’s (ea)

Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
8 Bulgarian Split Squats(ea)
8 Low to High Banded Chops
8 1-Leg DB Glute Bridge(ea)

EMOM 12
Min 1: 6 Chin-ups
Min 2: 12 DB Front Squats
Min 3: 8 DB Push-Presses

DEUCE Garage GPP

1-1-1-1-1
Snatch

Then, complete 4 rounds for time of:
200m Run