Contrastive paintings (paintings with high diversity of colors) carry a premium than equivalent artworks which are performed in monochromatic style

The impact of color palettes on the prices of paintings. Elena Stepanova. Empirical Economics, February 2019, Volume 56, Issue 2, pp 755–773. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00181-017-1413-4

Abstract: We emphasize that color composition is an important characteristic of a painting. It impacts the auction price of a painting, but it has never been considered in previous studies on art markets. By using Picasso’s paintings and paintings of Color Field Abstract Expressionists sold in Chrisite’s and Sotheby’s auctions in New York between 1998 and 2016, we demonstrate the method to analyze color compositions: How to extract color palettes from a painting image and how to measure color characteristics. We propose two measures: (1) the surface occupied by specific colors, (2) color diversity of a painting composition. Controlling for all conventional painting and sale characteristics, our empirical results find significant evidence of contrastive paintings, i.e., paintings with high diversity of colors, carrying a premium than equivalent artworks which are performed in monochromatic style. In the case of Picasso’s paintings, our econometric analysis shows that some colors are associated with high prices.

Keywords: Art markets Hedonic pricing Picasso Rothko Visual perception Color Color quantizing

In the juvenile period, primates form sex-differentiated bonds: females spend more time with female kin, & males with unrelated males; human males in middle childhood add, as chimpanzees do, intergroup contests

Sex Differences in Human Peer Relationships: A Primate’s-Eye View. Joyce F. Benenson. Current Directions in Psychological Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418812768

Abstract: Bonds formed by nonhuman animals can illuminate the structure of human relationships. In the juvenile period, primates of many species that are genetically similar to humans form sex-differentiated bonds in which females spend more time with female kin, and males spend more time with unrelated same-sex peers. Research with humans suggests a similar sex difference, with one notable addition: Beginning in middle childhood, male peer groups begin engaging in complex activities, including intergroup contests. This additional component of human peer relations resembles that of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), one of humans’ closest living genetic relatives. Cross-species and developmental evidence can aid in constructing a theory of human peer relations that differs by sex.

Keywords: peer relations, primates, sex differences, development