Life — April 30, 1925 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page from *Life* magazine contains two satirical pieces: **"A Baseball Magnate Buys a Rembrandt"** mocks wealthy sports executives' conspicuous consumption. A baseball team owner is duped by con artists posing as a plumber and art collector into purchasing a fake Rembrandt for $298,106—an astronomical sum (equivalent to roughly $5 million today). The satire targets both the owner's gullibility and the absurd art market prices of the era, suggesting that wealthy industrialists lack taste and are easily separated from their money through flattery and schemes. **"The Right Background"** appears to be the beginning of a narrative piece about a couple's move to a new house, with an illustration captioned "The Interrupted Story: 'Ah, yes—and then what did she say?'" The joke likely plays on marital domestic life or social pretension.