How to see great art and feel rich for an hour

Would you like to know what it might feel like to be very rich, to be able to do whatever money allows you do? Perhaps the best way I know is to visit Sotheby’s in New Bond Street, London. Sotheby’s is a broker for art, jewellery, fashion items, books, collectibles, and watches. (On my way to Sotheby’s this morning I read an astonishing article on the vast scale of money laundering–perhaps 5% of the global economy—and learnt that expensive watches are important in money laundering.) Founded in Britain in the 18th century, Sotheby’s now has its headquarters in New York but has 80 locations in 40 countries. I arrived at Sotheby’s this morning wearing shorts, a £2 tee shirt, and no socks, but, as far as the staff were concerned, I could have been an aristocrat from one of England’s oldest families, perhaps the Duke of Northumberland. The front of Sotheby’s is relatively unassuming, but inside a luxurious warren awaits. A man plays a piano, people in expensive clothes eat in the…