Nearly one billion dollars was exchanged for contemporary art at the fall 2012 New York auctions, a staggering amount that soared far beyond sale totals for Impressionism and other categories.

The trend points to the global surplus of cash held by the ultra-rich and the ever-increasing role of newly-produced art (created post-WWII) that fills their demand.

Recent art is all the rage and museums are among the quick to acquire it, but not without issues.

Writes Los Angeles Times critic Christopher Knight, "What's worrisome is that a generation's worth of privatizing public life still threatens the public sphere — including art museums."