Amazon launches site for purchase of fine art

Customers can buy original and limited edition works of art from more than 150 prominent galleries and dealers via Amazon Art.

The announcement came Tuesday, a day after Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. announced that its CEO, Jeff Bezos (BAY'-zohs), had purchased The Washington Post.

Amazon Art features 40,000 works from more than 4,500 artists. The wide range of works includes folk art, impressionism and modern art.

Prices range widely, too.

There's a photograph by Clifford Ross for $200 and a painting by Norman Rockwell for $4.85 million.

The online marketplace offers detailed information about the artist, work, provenance and exhibition history.

Amazon worked with Sotheby's for a short-lived experiment selling art online in 1999.