I'll trade you a J.M.W. Turner for a piece of Chinese art

Although the title of this blog post sounds odd, that's kind of what happened recently.

According to an article in The Art Newspaper, Baron Guy Ellens - a Belgian art trader - will be auctioning off his 14 J.M.W. Turner watercolours to focus on contemporary Chinese art. Sotheby's has estimated that Ellens' Turner collection will sell for between £10m-£15m ($19.7m-$29.55m).

Traditional art lovers may be completely confounded by this decision, or simply disagree with it. Put me in the latter category.

To be fair, the baron recently "founded the first private museum for both Chinese and international contemporary art in Beijing, which is to open in October." So, it's understandable why he decided to part with his 14 Turner watercolours.

But 14 original Turner watercolours?! Good Lord - I wish I could afford just one!