BIG MONEY PAID FOR MICHAEL JACKSON IMAGE

An Andy Warhol silk-screened image of Michael Jackson sold for $287,500 at Sotheby's on May 13 this year. The pop star died on June 25. Then on August 18, Vered Gallery in East Hampton, N.Y., sold the very same Warhol image for over $1 million, according to Forbes magazine. An expert on Warhol's work says the high price was due to Jackson's death, not to a spike in interest in works by Warhol. Of course.

THE CLOUDY CRYSTAL BALL

We just found a copy of a 1956 letter to Andy Warhol from the director of museum collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Warhol had donated his drawing called "Shoe." The director wrote, "I regret that I must report to you that the Committee decided, after careful consideration, that they ought not to accept it for our collection." He thanked Warhol, then added that he should pick up the drawing. Shoes were a favorite subject of Warhol's and are among his most famous images. The rejection didn't discourage Warhol, and today the museum possesses many of his shoe prints. As a collector, be careful what you pass up. But also remember--even museums make mistakes.