And then you donate the art to a foundation or charity and pocket a fat tax credit, thus avoiding the problem of having to actually find a sucker to pay $1 mill

And then you donate the art to a foundation or charity and pocket a fat tax credit, thus avoiding the problem of having to actually find a sucker to pay $1 million. Some jurisdictions have cracked down on this, but for a long time it was a popular way to game the system.