I'm excited to announce I'm going on tour to present my talk on "The Value of Beauty;" a subject I love to probe. 

The first stop of this year was the gorgeous historic Virginia Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills, where we had a sold out event! Of course, the jewels were on display and the audience had very educated questions, which makes these presentations super fun for me. 

Interested in having me come to your club to speak? Use the Contact Form to email me. Or, stay tuned to my travel schedule to see when I'm coming to a town near you. 

Daria de Koning’s talk “The Value of Beauty” explores with stunning imagery how the value - whether monetary or spiritual - of art is deeply personal and mercurial making price tags subjective in the eyes of the beholder. Using examples such as a 135,000 year-old eagle talon necklace to Thomas Gainsborough’s “Blue Boy,” she questions our perceptions of intrinsic value. Is the eagle talon necklace of little value without noble metals or precious stones? Why is Gainsborough’s work worth millions more than the canvas and paint used to create it? Daria looks at beauty in nature and - her love - mineralogy with an artist’s eye for the extraordinary patterns in the polished dome of fossilized coral or the otherworldly play of light flashing within Mexican blue opals. How would you put a price on what stirs your soul?