In 1966, Sears and Roebuck, then America's most popular retailer, hired the original Master of Menace, Vincent Price, to sell fine art to the public. Price, best known to audiences of the time as the star of numerous B-level horror movies, was not only the frontman of the retailer's fine art line but also the curator of a collection that, perhaps surprisingly, included works by Old Masters like Rubens, celebrity artists like Picasso and rising American artists like Georgia O'keefe alongside local unknowns. Prices started at $10. Vincent Price with a display of ceramics from his art collection, circa 1955. Getty Images Sears, for those too young to remember, was the Amazon of much of 19th- and 20th-century America. When the nation was populated mostly by small farms, the company's catalog was a lifeline to manufactured goods. During its heyday, one could buy just about anything from Sears: boats, motorcycles and even entire prefabricated homes. The arrival of the Sea...