Here is a paraphrase from a letter from Michaelangelo to his father:

"...I have finished the church ceiling and it didn't turn out too badly. But otherwise things are not going as well as I would like: the times are not good for art."

This does not specifically relate to "the death of art," but you might find it interesting.

Artist Lou Posner
http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/d/duffy