Art investment platform Masterworks raises $110 million

Masterworks.io, a fractional investment platform for fine art, raised $110 million in Series A funding at a pre-money valuation north of $1 billion led by Left Lane Capital.

Why it matters: This is the first large-scale effort to securitize the art market, including works by Picasso and Banksy, with CEO Scott Lynn telling Axios that Masterworks expects to buy nearly $400 million of art this year and closer to $1 billion in 2022.

• Other investors include Galaxy Interactive and Tru Arrow Partners. Masterworks says it is profitable and that the entire round was primary capital.

The bottom line via Axios Felix Salmon: Lynn is aiming to get as much monopsony power as he can in the high-end art market. If he's spending a billion dollars a year on art, there’s almost nothing art dealers won’t do for him.