Investments for financial gain are always a matter for careful consideration. Some find stocks and bonds challenging and rewarding while others seek opportunities in real estate.

 And then there are those who favor an investment in beauty rather than utility: they are the ones who search the art markets of the world for beautiful paintings, objets d'art and sculpture.

No one has provided a simpler investment formula than Bernard Baruch (1870-1965) who said, “Buy low, sell high.” The wisdom of his words was revealed recently when a copy of Sotheby's Auction Results for June 1999 arrived in the mail...

In the inaugural issue of the Garden Accents newsletter of February 1996, a garden sculpture by Edith Barretto Parsons was featured on the cover which was sold for $9,500. This charming piece, Frog Baby, was first cast in 1917 and was sold at Sotheby's Auction in June 1999 for $19,550.

Would that we were all so fortunate as to realize such a profit on a work of art! With this in mind we might begin to take more seriously the purchase of important pieces for our gardens. In addition to possible financial gain, our outdoor sculptures and objet d'art will serve us well by contributing beauty, pleasure and a sense of permanence in our gardens as we pass from one century to the next.