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Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art
A behind-the-scenes look at the egomaniacs, geniuses, and canny promoters who shaped the world of modern art and created the largest unregulated financial market in the world.
Before Damien Hirst stuffed a shark, before Basquiat picked up a spray can, before Andy Warhol started The Factory, a pile of unwanted Jackson Pollocks changed everything. From them emerged the first major modern art dealer. It was 1947, and the art world would never be the same.
From the early days on 57th Street, to the rise of SoHo in the 60s, to the emergence of Chelsea as the hotbed of art galleries, we see the meteoric rise and the devastating falls of the most renowned dealers: Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner, Arne Glimcher, and Iwan Wirth. With unparalleled access, the longtime Vanity Fair reporter tells us the story of contemporary art through the people who coddled, supported, and funded the likes of Jeff Koons, and Cy Twombly.
It's a story of backstabbing, betrayals, fruitful partnerships, genius, and ever larger sums of money. The world of contemporary art is inextricable from the wild wealth and naked financial opportunism that surrounds it.
Before Damien Hirst stuffed a shark, before Basquiat picked up a spray can, before Andy Warhol started The Factory, a pile of unwanted Jackson Pollocks changed everything. From them emerged the first major modern art dealer. It was 1947, and the art world would never be the same.
From the early days on 57th Street, to the rise of SoHo in the 60s, to the emergence of Chelsea as the hotbed of art galleries, we see the meteoric rise and the devastating falls of the most renowned dealers: Larry Gagosian, David Zwirner, Arne Glimcher, and Iwan Wirth. With unparalleled access, the longtime Vanity Fair reporter tells us the story of contemporary art through the people who coddled, supported, and funded the likes of Jeff Koons, and Cy Twombly.
It's a story of backstabbing, betrayals, fruitful partnerships, genius, and ever larger sums of money. The world of contemporary art is inextricable from the wild wealth and naked financial opportunism that surrounds it.
464 pages, Hardcover
Published May 21, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
October 8, 2023
4 " gossipy, exhaustive,incredulous" stars !!
The 2019 Jeez Louise Award
Addendum: March 30, 2020- the BF and I watched a fabulous doc that would be a really good companion to this book. The title is Blurred Lines and here is a preview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_haxb...
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Perseus Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book was released on 21 May, 2019 and is currently available
Wherever I travel, I go to galleries and museums. I love to lose myself in painting, sculpture, photography, installation and architecture. I know a fair bit about music, a little bit about literature but almost nothing about art. Despite reading and taking a course or two I am unable to hold a decent conversation. My experience of art is so subjective and stuck in a mire of emotions that I often cannot articulate.
This excellent book is about our current and recent history of the business of art. The book is lengthy, entertaining and full of interesting anecdotes and character studies of who makes up this scenes. From the artists like Koons and Basquiat to the mega-dealers like Gagosian and Castelli, Mr Shnayerson writes a book that will both shock and tantalize. Contemporary art is driven by desire and greed and the price tags of many of the pieces will blow your mind. Art is the playground of the rich that hoard and store and evade taxes or launder money. Partnerships are formed, alliances betrayed and courtroom battles ensue. New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Hong Kong feature prominently. Wheeling, squealing and dealing. Double crossing and Triple Crossing. Wow !!
This book would have been a 4.5 star read had it included photographs of the artists, art dealers and works of art. Sit near google while reading to look up everything you read about.
In May 2015 Picasso's Women of Algiers (Version O) sold for almost 180 million dollars !!
The 2019 Jeez Louise Award
Addendum: March 30, 2020- the BF and I watched a fabulous doc that would be a really good companion to this book. The title is Blurred Lines and here is a preview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_haxb...
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Perseus Books for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book was released on 21 May, 2019 and is currently available
Wherever I travel, I go to galleries and museums. I love to lose myself in painting, sculpture, photography, installation and architecture. I know a fair bit about music, a little bit about literature but almost nothing about art. Despite reading and taking a course or two I am unable to hold a decent conversation. My experience of art is so subjective and stuck in a mire of emotions that I often cannot articulate.
This excellent book is about our current and recent history of the business of art. The book is lengthy, entertaining and full of interesting anecdotes and character studies of who makes up this scenes. From the artists like Koons and Basquiat to the mega-dealers like Gagosian and Castelli, Mr Shnayerson writes a book that will both shock and tantalize. Contemporary art is driven by desire and greed and the price tags of many of the pieces will blow your mind. Art is the playground of the rich that hoard and store and evade taxes or launder money. Partnerships are formed, alliances betrayed and courtroom battles ensue. New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Hong Kong feature prominently. Wheeling, squealing and dealing. Double crossing and Triple Crossing. Wow !!
This book would have been a 4.5 star read had it included photographs of the artists, art dealers and works of art. Sit near google while reading to look up everything you read about.
In May 2015 Picasso's Women of Algiers (Version O) sold for almost 180 million dollars !!
July 16, 2019
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I am slightly ashamed to admit that for the longest time, I claimed not to like modern art because all I knew about modern art came from representations by its critics and I was thinking that all of it was just blank canvases splashed with paint, or clear plastic glasses filled with dish detergent and a single floating golf ball, with titles like Existentialism #2 or Cry, Aphrodite. Of course, I realize now that that's a bit like saying that you abhor the romance novel because you've seen people making fun of Twilight. Everything is unflattering and exaggerated in parody.
I am now a regular visitor of Modern Art museums and enjoy (some of) the pieces quite a bit. Modern Art, like everything else, covers a fairly broad spectrum, and there is something for everyone. You might see a blank canvas splashed with paint, or a plastic glass filled with dish detergent and golf balls, but you might also see statues made from unconventional materials, neon lights bent into interesting shapes, poetry told via an LED marquee, or comic book art representations of everyday objects.
I actually applied for an ARC of this book because the cover design reminded me of the art of Dan Flavin, an artist who used neon lights as his medium (and whose work I really enjoy). You can think of BOOM as being an epic love letter penned to modern art, while also acknowledging its flaws. For example, I am a huge fan of Adam Conover's Adam Ruins Everything series, and one of his videos is called "How the Fine Art Market is a Scam," which mentions many shady tactics employed by gallery owners and dealers in this book, such as driving up art sale prices to inflate the price of collections, or being choosy with customers and venues to build up the gallery brand.
The focus on the book, however, is on the artists, dealers, and gallery owners themselves, specifically Leo Castelli and Larry Gagosian, and the rise and fall of their careers. Their careers intersected with many artists, though, so there are a lot of miniature biographies on these artists and their opuses within the greater ebb and flow of modern art's popularity, beginning with the abstract expressionists, and ending with installation and outsider art, and how social media has begun to change how consumers of art interact with it (Vox has a great video on this called "How 'Instagram traps' are changing art museums" and it features one of the artists in here, Yayaoi Kusama, who you might know as "the dot lady").
Because I've been to the museum so many times, this was a deeply personal read for me because it mentioned so many of my favorite artists, like Liechtenstein, Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kusama, Frank Stella, and Dan Flavin, to name a few. It was so amazing to be able to see where they came from, how they sold their art, and even get a tiny glimpse into their personalities. I also kind of liked how the modern art world was portrayed as being like a secret club. Indie publishing and book blogging felt like that in the early 2010s, when online commercial book stuff was just taking off and not as many people were into it yet, so everyone kind of knew and interacted with everyone.
The only downside is that this book is very long, but it's beautifully written and the huge amount of research the author did shines through every page. By the time I finished the book, I wanted to go to an art museum right now. Shnayerson really captures the positives and the negatives of the art world, neatly encapsulated within the brief (but thorough) history he provides, and I really liked that a lot.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
4 to 4.5 stars
May 1, 2020
A much more compelling read than I had expected. If you ever cracked open an art book featuring a painter from the 1950s and up – Rothko, Basquiat, Doig, Murakami, anyone whose work ever transited by New York, really – or a movement to which they are associated, chances are an art dealer was mentioned at some point. Perhaps Leo Castelli for one, but also a slew of others, if only in passing. Larry Gagosian for sure, if the art you read about was recent, or Gavin Brown, maybe.
In Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art, the tables are turned. Artists are still very present in the narrative, but the evolution of a focus from a somewhat romanticized art world to today’s global art market makes for a fantastic story. A lot has happened within the last few decades and numerous ground rules have changed for galleries, museums and auction houses alike. Between dealers of all leanings (and power) and wave after wave of up-and-coming household names, there must have been hundreds of people referenced in this book. Yet you never lose track, nor do you struggle to keep up: a few clever words pop up when needed to bring back to mind with perfect clarity a name that hasn’t been mentioned in a few chapters already. Fascinating interactions are rendered with just the right amount of detail, moving along swiftly. A couple years of research went into this. A lot of talent, too.
Despite being tempted to pick this up on the one hand, I was a little wary on the other that the topic might make for a dry read before finally jumping in. I needn’t have worried: Michael Shnayerson kept everything enjoyable and very much alive, from beginning to end. This is quite the coup. Bravo!
In Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art, the tables are turned. Artists are still very present in the narrative, but the evolution of a focus from a somewhat romanticized art world to today’s global art market makes for a fantastic story. A lot has happened within the last few decades and numerous ground rules have changed for galleries, museums and auction houses alike. Between dealers of all leanings (and power) and wave after wave of up-and-coming household names, there must have been hundreds of people referenced in this book. Yet you never lose track, nor do you struggle to keep up: a few clever words pop up when needed to bring back to mind with perfect clarity a name that hasn’t been mentioned in a few chapters already. Fascinating interactions are rendered with just the right amount of detail, moving along swiftly. A couple years of research went into this. A lot of talent, too.
Despite being tempted to pick this up on the one hand, I was a little wary on the other that the topic might make for a dry read before finally jumping in. I needn’t have worried: Michael Shnayerson kept everything enjoyable and very much alive, from beginning to end. This is quite the coup. Bravo!
July 3, 2019
Too long and too much detail about the boring minutiae of the business dealings and ups and downs of the big-shot New York art dealers of the post war period. The earlier sections were interesting but too much time on petty gossip - not even good gossip - about mega-dealer Larry Gagosian. I was hoping for a more jaundiced eye, such as that of Don Thompson's $12 Million Dollar Stuffed Shark. A google reminded me who author Shnayerson is: a Vanity Fair writer, a magazine which has some excellent writing but also suffers from the having to project the NY fantasy life. Lots of photos on google of Shnayerson hanging out in cream linen suits in the Hamptons with his moneyed associates which expalns the central problem with this book: he doesn't want to offend anyone. Why would he? He has married a rich widow, so why upset everyone in his social circle by writing a tough book. The book is also just too long. Nevertheless, although not explicitly attacked, Shnayerson portrays, what to me, is a depressingly New York story of ruthless dealers, arrogant artists and people with more money than sense buying art either as an investment or to signal their monetary status and supposed cultural savvy. The whole edifice seems thoroughly rotten to me. Perhaps the author was cleverer and more subtle than I appreciated.
April 4, 2019
Boom is not only a modern history of the art world, filled with rich details, revealing anecdotes, as compelling told by Shnayerson, but it's also an examination of mass culture and mass consciousness. While reading this book I couldn't help but feel as though the rarefied art world Shnayerson turned his eye to became a meta-narrative for the hype-culture our society has mutated into.
March 3, 2019
This is an illustrious book (pun intended) highlighting all of the major players of the contemporary art world. If you have an interest in the art world but are a beginner, this could be an overwhelming but at the same time, provides all of the history for you to get up-to-speed. Schnayerson shares the most exciting stories and lives of the most influential dealers, critics, and collectors. This is not to forget the artists who were the subject of this art period such as de Kooning, Rauschenberg, Pollock, Johns, Lichtenstein, and Warhol. If you want to learn how the art market moves and who is responsible for the movement, this is the book for you.
December 13, 2021
Read on a plane to Miami, ironically on Miami Art Basil weekend (the trip was NOT to go to art Basil).
Pretty good analysis of the large dealers and how they engage with the artists they sell. Lots of inside baseballs and it is hard to translate the magic of art onto the page, especially given the book is largely dish about the ins and out of the art world, but I think the artists strikes a good balance of insider dish and analysis of art and presentation of the question without presupposing an answer. Seems like too much writing these days is overly didactic and this book is pretty good on being informative. Even controversial figures like Gagosian are presented in I think in pretty fair terms. It's also entertaining and an easy read if you have a passing understanding of contemporary art coming in. Maybe for a pure newby it might not translate but for its target audience, folks who like to go to museums and want to learn more about the paintings they see and like, how they move, how they came about, this is a pretty good book.
Pretty good analysis of the large dealers and how they engage with the artists they sell. Lots of inside baseballs and it is hard to translate the magic of art onto the page, especially given the book is largely dish about the ins and out of the art world, but I think the artists strikes a good balance of insider dish and analysis of art and presentation of the question without presupposing an answer. Seems like too much writing these days is overly didactic and this book is pretty good on being informative. Even controversial figures like Gagosian are presented in I think in pretty fair terms. It's also entertaining and an easy read if you have a passing understanding of contemporary art coming in. Maybe for a pure newby it might not translate but for its target audience, folks who like to go to museums and want to learn more about the paintings they see and like, how they move, how they came about, this is a pretty good book.
Read
August 10, 2019This book approaches art history a different way, through an emphasis on the power brokering of powerful dealers like Castelli and Gagosian. These brokers were important in two ways: they found, nurtured, or poached promising artists, thereby influencing the trends of contemporary art through their choices of artists and art schools to provide crucial gallery space, media space, or stipend; and they served as mediators between artist and wealthy collectors that ultimately led to the trend of extremely expensive art collecting as a form of financial investment and social status symbol among the mega-wealthy.
August 8, 2019
Chronology of art dealings in New York from the 1970s to the present, focusing on the rise of the four current mega-dealers. As others have mentioned, the account is exhaustive to a fault, with only passing reference to the art movements and artworks, and virtually no comment or evaluation on the author's part, so this reads more like the society pages than art history. Not for anyone unfamiliar with contemporary art (unless you don't mind constantly looking up particular artists or art pieces as they are name-dropped in the text).
October 23, 2021
informative but sorta boring
May 8, 2020
This book is a bit like learning algebra. You can’t skim over one chapter and expect to keep up with the remaining information that inevitably faces you.
I wanted to finish this book, I swear. However, I skimmed a bit in the first chapter and I never really got caught up. Yes, I could have gone back and reread everything again, but my heart was not in it.
I have a considerable love for fine artists and fine art in general. With that said, I struggled to connect to the artists, and gallery owners in this book.
It’s a pity because the author researched this information so extensively. Like I said I wanted to like this, but it read like a textbook.
Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.
*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *
I wanted to finish this book, I swear. However, I skimmed a bit in the first chapter and I never really got caught up. Yes, I could have gone back and reread everything again, but my heart was not in it.
I have a considerable love for fine artists and fine art in general. With that said, I struggled to connect to the artists, and gallery owners in this book.
It’s a pity because the author researched this information so extensively. Like I said I wanted to like this, but it read like a textbook.
Thanks to #NetGalley, I had an advanced PDF to read and review.
*All opinions are my own and I was not required to post a positive review. *
June 30, 2019
I can't really recommend this to anyone. It is about the business of art, but instead of writing about the art or the personalities, Shnayerson seems most dedicated to detailing real-estate transactions (galleries opening in new neighborhoods, etc.). Most of the reporting seems to be second-hand, based on news stories instead of on direct interviews, so the characters stay very flat. There is little narrative.
For the general reader interested in the economics of art, I would recommend instead "The $12 Million Stuffed Shark," by Don Thompson, or, perhaps, "Seven Days in the Art World," by Sarah Thornton. This filled in some gaps in my knowledge, particularly of Gagosian and other mega-dealers, but was very flat.
For the general reader interested in the economics of art, I would recommend instead "The $12 Million Stuffed Shark," by Don Thompson, or, perhaps, "Seven Days in the Art World," by Sarah Thornton. This filled in some gaps in my knowledge, particularly of Gagosian and other mega-dealers, but was very flat.
December 22, 2019
Overview of the contemporary art market, through the lens of the dealers who helped to build the market that we know now. I was a bit disappointed that the book delivered less of the understanding of the business of the art world and structure of the art market, and ended up being mostly a collection of name drops and anecdotes of dealers and artists - not the high level overview and history of the market that I was hoping for. But its portrayal of Gagosian (its central figure) was full of interesting insights on business and creating markets for products, with lessons for anyone in the business of sales.
Story begins with the first postwar dealers: Guggenheim, Parsons, Janis, Castelli (the most important of the bunch who set the tone for the next generations). This generation mostly came from wealth, and their rise coincided with rise of American art, via abstract expressionism and a few specific artists: Pollock, de Kooning, Clifford Still, Barnet Newman, Ellsworth Kelly (among first artists living in NY industrial spaces, at the South Street Seaport). Castelli possessed a continental European air that gave comfort to American buyers, and he helped pioneer industry wide trends like larger liveable stipends for premium artists. Johns and Rauschenberg forged a path out of abstract expressionism, into pop art / mass culture / satirical work that came next. Liechtenstein, Rosenquist, Warhol - Warhol’s Silver Liz and start of silkscreen techniques making him the 'Henry Ford of art'.
70s: Evolution of art from abstract expressionism to pop art to minimalism, stripping down personality from art to its basics, pioneered by Donald Judd. Paula Cooper and the first Soho gallery.; Arne Glimcher's Pace; rising importance of auctions and influential collectors (Saatchis and their ability to move markets with taste changes / liquidations).
80s: starting point of an NYC that had gone bankrupt in the 70s. Conceptualism as a defining idea giving way to neo-figuratism. Idea of art market resembling a stock market with just a few very valuable shares that are hard to find; ability to find them in a secondary market defined the best dealers, exemplified by Gagosian's extraordinary ability to know where to find inventory and to broker deals that made collectors on both sides happy.
Rise of Gagosian as the key figure in the new art market that Castelli and peers had gotten off the ground postwar. Unlike previous leading dealers, with European connections and sophistication, family money, and upbringings around art - Gagosian came from humble immigrant origins (Armenian in California), and got an accidental start in art (selling posters on the side of job as a parking attendant). Stared working with Castelli as a satellite in LA (following model of Irving Blum).
Other trends in the 80s: Deitch and the first corporate collection/partnership with Citi; pictures generation in early 80s; new artists like Ruscha (inspired by Johns, promoted in CA by Blum); end of old world order of honor, characterized by departure of artists like Judd from Castelli. In this world the old guard (Castelli) had a need for Gagosian as a younger enforcer and financial partner. Rise of neo geo movement (Koons, translation of pop art into 3D with a focus on mechanization); growth of London market led by Anthony d’Offay and artists like Lucian Freud and Richter. Warhol and Basquiat deaths within months of each other; Koons as a torch carrier. Gagosian and sale of posthumous Warhols with Mugrabi at famous Sotheby's auction - exploring edges of auction market practice (non-disclosed reserves) to ensure value of their collections was preserved and not damaged by a poor auction. Beginning of questionable financial practices: like kind transactions, dealers engaging in swaps to boost value on paper and avoid taxes.
90s: began with late 80s boom and frenzy, partly driven by corporate executives who learned art from corporate collections, leading to a sudden downturn in 1990. Bill Acquavella and Freud in NY; conceptual and identity art in early 90s; Marshall and Whitney 1994 show on black art. European dealers in NY: Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth. Gagosian competed most directly with Glimcher (including over new Hollywood clients), less with the new Europeans. Koons - figurative art, combined with conceptual underpinnings and expensive material; marked the movement into art categorized by price category; nearly bankrupted multiple dealers underwriting Celebration series - partnership with Deitch, Sotheby’s (fabrication agreement that sunk Deitch). New forces in London: Jopling (White Cube) and Hirst. Migration of galleries from Soho to Chelsea (as Soho was overtaken by retail). ***Gagosian's appeal to his network of collectors - sold them on an existential need for art, and the ability to connect to others who shared this need - it was more important to buy into Gagosian and the brand of being a Gagosian client, than to buy into the art itself.***
Evolution of the art world into the art market, coinciding with the death of Castelli and move to Chelsea (end of downtown community driven world, coinciding with peak globalization c. 1999. New market trends: auction houses acting as dealers; secondary pricing driven by past sales/auctions pluse markup, with discounts for trusted collectors; primary pricing (Gagosian live or die model). Gagosian's timely London opening in 2000 - first American dealer in London, just in time for growing Russian presence and as d’Offay quit and gave Gagosian access to London clients (Twombly). Rise of LA scene (MOCA, Cal Arts).
2000s: 2004 - first year with auctions over 100mm. Zwirner - most risk taking of mega dealers, took on minimalists and lesser known artists - spiritual successor to Castelli. Art fairs in 2000s and rise of art advisory model; Pace, Gagosian and making estates a large part of the business; legal battles - sellers not having rights to works, artists upset at flipping, agency laws and duty to seller. 2012-2013 : another wave of galleries into London, due to rise of Qatari museum project. 2013 peak of market - emphasis on sales of 20th century masters (Bacon, Rothko, Warhol, de Kooning) plus Koons. Branding (Wirth art farm) key to mega dealers in world where artists could split dealers; Gagosian's idea of making a value system, making art different from investing in companies. Met Breuer and Lauder collection - Met belatedly trying for relevance in modern art - and retreat; controversy over museum board members’ ability to promote their own collections. 2016 - cases of tax evasion, fraud, money laundering, use of freeports. Zwirner following path of Gagosian- less nurturing of rising artists, taking on proven big artists. Wall St approach of Sotheby’s - bespoke advisory firm with art as one arm; Levy / Gorvvy following this path on dealer side. Increasing consolidation of big galleries, strategies for smaller dealers to survive in a world dominated by mega dealers - analogy of bifurcation between whale sharks and sucker fish.
Sale of Salvatore Mundi raises the question of what will be first 1bn work of art?
Story begins with the first postwar dealers: Guggenheim, Parsons, Janis, Castelli (the most important of the bunch who set the tone for the next generations). This generation mostly came from wealth, and their rise coincided with rise of American art, via abstract expressionism and a few specific artists: Pollock, de Kooning, Clifford Still, Barnet Newman, Ellsworth Kelly (among first artists living in NY industrial spaces, at the South Street Seaport). Castelli possessed a continental European air that gave comfort to American buyers, and he helped pioneer industry wide trends like larger liveable stipends for premium artists. Johns and Rauschenberg forged a path out of abstract expressionism, into pop art / mass culture / satirical work that came next. Liechtenstein, Rosenquist, Warhol - Warhol’s Silver Liz and start of silkscreen techniques making him the 'Henry Ford of art'.
70s: Evolution of art from abstract expressionism to pop art to minimalism, stripping down personality from art to its basics, pioneered by Donald Judd. Paula Cooper and the first Soho gallery.; Arne Glimcher's Pace; rising importance of auctions and influential collectors (Saatchis and their ability to move markets with taste changes / liquidations).
80s: starting point of an NYC that had gone bankrupt in the 70s. Conceptualism as a defining idea giving way to neo-figuratism. Idea of art market resembling a stock market with just a few very valuable shares that are hard to find; ability to find them in a secondary market defined the best dealers, exemplified by Gagosian's extraordinary ability to know where to find inventory and to broker deals that made collectors on both sides happy.
Rise of Gagosian as the key figure in the new art market that Castelli and peers had gotten off the ground postwar. Unlike previous leading dealers, with European connections and sophistication, family money, and upbringings around art - Gagosian came from humble immigrant origins (Armenian in California), and got an accidental start in art (selling posters on the side of job as a parking attendant). Stared working with Castelli as a satellite in LA (following model of Irving Blum).
Other trends in the 80s: Deitch and the first corporate collection/partnership with Citi; pictures generation in early 80s; new artists like Ruscha (inspired by Johns, promoted in CA by Blum); end of old world order of honor, characterized by departure of artists like Judd from Castelli. In this world the old guard (Castelli) had a need for Gagosian as a younger enforcer and financial partner. Rise of neo geo movement (Koons, translation of pop art into 3D with a focus on mechanization); growth of London market led by Anthony d’Offay and artists like Lucian Freud and Richter. Warhol and Basquiat deaths within months of each other; Koons as a torch carrier. Gagosian and sale of posthumous Warhols with Mugrabi at famous Sotheby's auction - exploring edges of auction market practice (non-disclosed reserves) to ensure value of their collections was preserved and not damaged by a poor auction. Beginning of questionable financial practices: like kind transactions, dealers engaging in swaps to boost value on paper and avoid taxes.
90s: began with late 80s boom and frenzy, partly driven by corporate executives who learned art from corporate collections, leading to a sudden downturn in 1990. Bill Acquavella and Freud in NY; conceptual and identity art in early 90s; Marshall and Whitney 1994 show on black art. European dealers in NY: Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth. Gagosian competed most directly with Glimcher (including over new Hollywood clients), less with the new Europeans. Koons - figurative art, combined with conceptual underpinnings and expensive material; marked the movement into art categorized by price category; nearly bankrupted multiple dealers underwriting Celebration series - partnership with Deitch, Sotheby’s (fabrication agreement that sunk Deitch). New forces in London: Jopling (White Cube) and Hirst. Migration of galleries from Soho to Chelsea (as Soho was overtaken by retail). ***Gagosian's appeal to his network of collectors - sold them on an existential need for art, and the ability to connect to others who shared this need - it was more important to buy into Gagosian and the brand of being a Gagosian client, than to buy into the art itself.***
Evolution of the art world into the art market, coinciding with the death of Castelli and move to Chelsea (end of downtown community driven world, coinciding with peak globalization c. 1999. New market trends: auction houses acting as dealers; secondary pricing driven by past sales/auctions pluse markup, with discounts for trusted collectors; primary pricing (Gagosian live or die model). Gagosian's timely London opening in 2000 - first American dealer in London, just in time for growing Russian presence and as d’Offay quit and gave Gagosian access to London clients (Twombly). Rise of LA scene (MOCA, Cal Arts).
2000s: 2004 - first year with auctions over 100mm. Zwirner - most risk taking of mega dealers, took on minimalists and lesser known artists - spiritual successor to Castelli. Art fairs in 2000s and rise of art advisory model; Pace, Gagosian and making estates a large part of the business; legal battles - sellers not having rights to works, artists upset at flipping, agency laws and duty to seller. 2012-2013 : another wave of galleries into London, due to rise of Qatari museum project. 2013 peak of market - emphasis on sales of 20th century masters (Bacon, Rothko, Warhol, de Kooning) plus Koons. Branding (Wirth art farm) key to mega dealers in world where artists could split dealers; Gagosian's idea of making a value system, making art different from investing in companies. Met Breuer and Lauder collection - Met belatedly trying for relevance in modern art - and retreat; controversy over museum board members’ ability to promote their own collections. 2016 - cases of tax evasion, fraud, money laundering, use of freeports. Zwirner following path of Gagosian- less nurturing of rising artists, taking on proven big artists. Wall St approach of Sotheby’s - bespoke advisory firm with art as one arm; Levy / Gorvvy following this path on dealer side. Increasing consolidation of big galleries, strategies for smaller dealers to survive in a world dominated by mega dealers - analogy of bifurcation between whale sharks and sucker fish.
Sale of Salvatore Mundi raises the question of what will be first 1bn work of art?
August 30, 2022
I have always found that learning about post-war contemporary art can be a challenging experience. Where should I even begin? Luckily, Michael Shnayerson has made the topic more accessible by focusing on art dealers and the role they play in nurturing emerging artists. There are some interesting parallels to the role that VCs have played in incubating startups, though in the art world, that relationship can be more malleable given that the career of an artist usually outlasts that of a company. Just like startups, the relationship is symbiotic. Successful artists have elevated the status of their dealers, and mega dealers have also brought the career of their budding artists to new heights. Gagosian, Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth and Pace Gallery are usually thought of as the Mega Dealers of this era. Aside from the competition among art dealers, there are also skirmishes among art fairs, auction houses and freeports. Similar to the conclusion I have had for the previous book, the next two decades will usher in the rise of regional art dealers, given that the next Chinese, Indian and Indonesian billionaires would not just be buying the last Hockney's or Koon's, but also artworks produced by contemporary artists residing in their countries. While I am not saying that Bored Ape Yacht Club is the next Warholian Campbell Soup, virtual art gallery hosted in metaverses could be the next battleground for dealers who would like to pursue a wider reach of younger audiences. These prospective metaverse-native art galleries could one day break the hold that the Mega Dealers have had over both the primary and secondary markets.
February 9, 2022
If you want an eye-opening review of the current art market, this is the book for you, the author had access to all the big dealers and how they came to dominate the market. It makes you wonder how any good art gets made, with the dealers now cultivating clients more than artists. Too bad it ended as Covid started - small dealers were already in peril. There is an overload of detail - a summary with main trends would have been helpful.
December 8, 2020
A book about the American “art market” that also touches on important social issues: gentrification and urban development, inequality, and intellectual property rights. Have google and the notes app handy if you are reading it.
October 20, 2019
This was interesting, but missing something important that would have made it much more so for me. It’s a detailed story of the post-war boom in modern art and its later manifestations, focusing on the most important dealers who fostered new artists and the artists themselves. It covers a time span in which the prices for paintings by the best artists rose from under $1,000 to over $100,000,000, and in which artists switched dealers and dealers poached artists from other dealers with little. The most intense focus is on the personalities and practices of the dealers at the top and, secondarily, on their artists. What was missing for me was more information on the wealthy buyers of this art: their motivations, collections, loyalties and other factors that would have added immensely to a comprehension of who in their right mind pays $5-100 million for a painting or sculpture.
November 26, 2019
Curious ! I enjoyed its intensity, discussion around how art has evolved and its current baggage/significance. This was an easy read all-in, reminding me somewhat of books following the financial crises, say “The Big Short”. The cover work is great, a nod to Dan Flavin presumably. Great historical back-drop to the modern and contemporary art movements mainly from an artists perspective, particularly as a pictorial trope of 1) London, 2) New York and 3) Los Angeles.
September 24, 2019
I couldn't finish this book. The level of meaningless detail became overwhelming, so I decided to pull the plug about half-way through. I did learn something though and have a better appreciation of the art market, particularly the dealers that are such a heavy influence.
June 7, 2023
Ahh there’s just so much good stuff here. I feel like Owen Wilson’s character from Midnight in Paris, except I’m in New York and the historical characters I’m encountering made their marks via art in the latter half of 20th century.
The narrative arc largely follows the lives of dealers, starting with Peggy Guggenheim and Betty Parsons in 1947 on 57th Street and Parsons’ decision to take on Pollock, considered the most daring at the time. Leo Castelli, the true art lover imo, was the patriarch of the NY art world in the 50s through 70s, and represented most of Ab Ex (Abstract Expressionist), Pop, Minimalist names we know. Volume-wise, though, the book can be bifurcated into pre- and post-Larry Gagosian eras aka “the great white shark”.
Some reflections / food for thought:
1. Most artists to this day do not benefit from secondary sales. The artist’s resale right, or droit de suite, has been incorporated in EU law but no royalties are paid to artists in the US or China, which make up the biggest % of the art market by sales turnover. That was the big appeal of NFTs royalties, but do not want to make this a NFT discussion. I think this points to the larger picture of how unregulated the art market still is and having a progressive fee-split system (by price bracket) in secondary trades would definitely benefit living artists. The record-breaking sale of Jasper Johns’ masterpiece Three Flags to the Whitney from the Tremaines in 1980 at $1M returned not even a penny to the artist himself. The artist wrote “One million dollars is a staggering figure, but let’s not forget that it has nothing to do with art”. Well Jasper, you can say that again
2. Woe to the lack of credit and spotlight on women who shaped the art world as benefactors or created works as artists, whose names are recognized mostly in reference to their husbands’ (e.g. Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning). While there is increasing focus on certain female artists like Frankenthaler, female artists only make up ~15% of post-war and contemporary auction sales today. I got the book, Ninth Street Women, as I’m curious to learn more about the exact intricacies these women faced. (The book’s thicc though so tbd)
3. Both Castelli and Gagosian had not dipped their toes in the art market until their 40s and 30s, respectively. It’s no free pass to live aimlessly until hitting year 30 and it is true working in art sales does not require a degree or license compared to many other professions that do, but it’s also refreshing to know that one can continue to reinvent one’s life with career choices as long as you do it with grit. A creative example of Gagosian’s bulldozing is when he realized barrier to entry is high in becoming a dealer in NY, he staged LA shows for NY artists so he threatened no NY dealers, everyone profited and he got to associate himself with top artists
More details / summary of the book:
In the 40s-50s, the New York School of Ab Exers (i.e. Abstract Expressionists) — including Parsons’ four horsemen (Rothko, Still, Newman, Pollock) — developed the first American art movement of international influence. Many of the artists lived in Coenties Slip, which was an inlet for sailing ships until it was filled in in the 1830s, and it was the first community of New York artists to live in industrial spaces! Gentrification target no. 1!
The 50s-60s was the age of Don Castelli. This continental collector of Hungarian Jewish origins was a true lover of the arts even against the reputation that his wife Ileana and associate director Karp were the ones with the eye and took the risks while he was the reluctant come-along: His often responded, “I have a waiting list for him” or “Thank you for your interest. We will consider it” to buyers he did not know or admire, he executed a series of transactions between buyers to get the “right” artworks in the “right” collections even if he lost money in the process, and he was always more generous with his artists than his buyers.
Castelli represented Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist
With 60s arrived Pop art and Minimalism. Warhol started to catch momentum and Paula Cooper opened the first gallery below Houston Street and her first show in 1968 included Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Robert, Mangold, Robert Ryman, Dan Flavin, and Carl Andre. Minimalism would struggle to find buyers until the artists joined Pace and Zwirner.
“The hardest thing to remember about the sixties is that it wasn’t so serious… these works were not so valuable and artists were more about making the work and being part of this small and wonderful art world”
In 1973, with the sale of some 50 works from the taxi magnate Robert Scull’s contemporary collection at Sotheby’s marked the first financial inflection point for the contemporary art market - there were record prices with almost every artwork and made auction prices the new and permanent metric of value in art.
The narrative arc largely follows the lives of dealers, starting with Peggy Guggenheim and Betty Parsons in 1947 on 57th Street and Parsons’ decision to take on Pollock, considered the most daring at the time. Leo Castelli, the true art lover imo, was the patriarch of the NY art world in the 50s through 70s, and represented most of Ab Ex (Abstract Expressionist), Pop, Minimalist names we know. Volume-wise, though, the book can be bifurcated into pre- and post-Larry Gagosian eras aka “the great white shark”.
Some reflections / food for thought:
1. Most artists to this day do not benefit from secondary sales. The artist’s resale right, or droit de suite, has been incorporated in EU law but no royalties are paid to artists in the US or China, which make up the biggest % of the art market by sales turnover. That was the big appeal of NFTs royalties, but do not want to make this a NFT discussion. I think this points to the larger picture of how unregulated the art market still is and having a progressive fee-split system (by price bracket) in secondary trades would definitely benefit living artists. The record-breaking sale of Jasper Johns’ masterpiece Three Flags to the Whitney from the Tremaines in 1980 at $1M returned not even a penny to the artist himself. The artist wrote “One million dollars is a staggering figure, but let’s not forget that it has nothing to do with art”. Well Jasper, you can say that again
2. Woe to the lack of credit and spotlight on women who shaped the art world as benefactors or created works as artists, whose names are recognized mostly in reference to their husbands’ (e.g. Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning). While there is increasing focus on certain female artists like Frankenthaler, female artists only make up ~15% of post-war and contemporary auction sales today. I got the book, Ninth Street Women, as I’m curious to learn more about the exact intricacies these women faced. (The book’s thicc though so tbd)
3. Both Castelli and Gagosian had not dipped their toes in the art market until their 40s and 30s, respectively. It’s no free pass to live aimlessly until hitting year 30 and it is true working in art sales does not require a degree or license compared to many other professions that do, but it’s also refreshing to know that one can continue to reinvent one’s life with career choices as long as you do it with grit. A creative example of Gagosian’s bulldozing is when he realized barrier to entry is high in becoming a dealer in NY, he staged LA shows for NY artists so he threatened no NY dealers, everyone profited and he got to associate himself with top artists
More details / summary of the book:
In the 40s-50s, the New York School of Ab Exers (i.e. Abstract Expressionists) — including Parsons’ four horsemen (Rothko, Still, Newman, Pollock) — developed the first American art movement of international influence. Many of the artists lived in Coenties Slip, which was an inlet for sailing ships until it was filled in in the 1830s, and it was the first community of New York artists to live in industrial spaces! Gentrification target no. 1!
The 50s-60s was the age of Don Castelli. This continental collector of Hungarian Jewish origins was a true lover of the arts even against the reputation that his wife Ileana and associate director Karp were the ones with the eye and took the risks while he was the reluctant come-along: His often responded, “I have a waiting list for him” or “Thank you for your interest. We will consider it” to buyers he did not know or admire, he executed a series of transactions between buyers to get the “right” artworks in the “right” collections even if he lost money in the process, and he was always more generous with his artists than his buyers.
Castelli represented Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist
With 60s arrived Pop art and Minimalism. Warhol started to catch momentum and Paula Cooper opened the first gallery below Houston Street and her first show in 1968 included Donald Judd, Sol LeWitt, Robert, Mangold, Robert Ryman, Dan Flavin, and Carl Andre. Minimalism would struggle to find buyers until the artists joined Pace and Zwirner.
“The hardest thing to remember about the sixties is that it wasn’t so serious… these works were not so valuable and artists were more about making the work and being part of this small and wonderful art world”
In 1973, with the sale of some 50 works from the taxi magnate Robert Scull’s contemporary collection at Sotheby’s marked the first financial inflection point for the contemporary art market - there were record prices with almost every artwork and made auction prices the new and permanent metric of value in art.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2020
I heard about this book after going to a talk at Google between the author and Marc Glimcher of Pace Gallery. Since getting into reading more about art history, I’ve been loving learning about artists but feeling like I was missing out on the whole art market component. Like you hear about artwork selling for these crazy prices and go to museums and see work by the hottest contemporary artists but how did all of this play out? The process has always seemed so opaque to me, but reading this helped me start to understand the importance of the dynamic and politics between artists, dealers/gallery owners, and collectors.
The book walks through the history of Contemporary Art through the perspective of art dealers rather than artists. It focuses most on the galleries that have emerged as the four “megas”: Gagosian, David Zwirner, Pace Gallery, and Hauser and Wirth. Reading about the shift from small scale dealers working in the insular art scene of the 50s no 57th street like Betty Parsons/Sidney Janis to the expansion of the scene to first Soho then to East Village and eventually to Chelsea helped me understand how the art world in New York has evolved over the past several decades. It also made me realize how critical the role of a gallery/dealer can be in positioning an artist for success.
Clearly Shnayerson has a deep, insider understanding of the Contemporary Art market and its key players, but as a beginner reading about the scene I found it really difficult to keep up with all of the names of artists/dealers. I constantly felt the need to look up artists to see their work. Inserted images of artwork/photos of the places discussed would have been really nice. The book was well researched, but I didn’t find it to be particularly well written. The writing felt squeezed, like Snayerson was trying to force every detail in and some connections between chapters felt sloppy. I also found the way he talked about underrepresented groups in the art world to be alarming… he didn’t make their lack of representation seem like a glaring issue, instead addressing it with a matter of fact and “oh maybe this was an issue” kind of tone.
All that said, the amount of information in these pages is really impressive. I’m walking away with a much deeper understanding of what role art fairs, auction houses, collectors, gallery globalization, museum collections, investors, and artist/dealer relations play in the whole art system. Although there’s no way I retained even half of the facts mentioned in the book, having that general frame of reference will be really useful as I continue to read about art and try to understand how it functions in the world today.
The book walks through the history of Contemporary Art through the perspective of art dealers rather than artists. It focuses most on the galleries that have emerged as the four “megas”: Gagosian, David Zwirner, Pace Gallery, and Hauser and Wirth. Reading about the shift from small scale dealers working in the insular art scene of the 50s no 57th street like Betty Parsons/Sidney Janis to the expansion of the scene to first Soho then to East Village and eventually to Chelsea helped me understand how the art world in New York has evolved over the past several decades. It also made me realize how critical the role of a gallery/dealer can be in positioning an artist for success.
Clearly Shnayerson has a deep, insider understanding of the Contemporary Art market and its key players, but as a beginner reading about the scene I found it really difficult to keep up with all of the names of artists/dealers. I constantly felt the need to look up artists to see their work. Inserted images of artwork/photos of the places discussed would have been really nice. The book was well researched, but I didn’t find it to be particularly well written. The writing felt squeezed, like Snayerson was trying to force every detail in and some connections between chapters felt sloppy. I also found the way he talked about underrepresented groups in the art world to be alarming… he didn’t make their lack of representation seem like a glaring issue, instead addressing it with a matter of fact and “oh maybe this was an issue” kind of tone.
All that said, the amount of information in these pages is really impressive. I’m walking away with a much deeper understanding of what role art fairs, auction houses, collectors, gallery globalization, museum collections, investors, and artist/dealer relations play in the whole art system. Although there’s no way I retained even half of the facts mentioned in the book, having that general frame of reference will be really useful as I continue to read about art and try to understand how it functions in the world today.
July 5, 2020
680 g sverianti Michaelo Shnayersono knyga „Sprogimas: pamišę pinigai, megapardavėjai ir šiuolaikinio meno pakilimas“ – tai 5 dalių leidinys, kuriame apstu profesionalių įžvalgų apie šiuolaikinio meno perversmą rinkoje, o jo tekstas gyvas, šmaikštus, kritiškas. Kiekvienai knygai (jei ji ne akademinė) apie meną, o ypač jo rinką, svarbu gebėti nepaskęsti skaičiuose bei faktuose ir susilaikyti nuo noro nuolat kritikuoti investitorius ar, tradiciškai kalbant, kolekcionierius. Ir šiuo atveju, ko gero, autorius suprato, jog gyvos kalbos aspektas – būtinas, jei sieki, kad skaitytojas įveiktų kone 500 puslapių (su vos 11 iliustracijų! Ir vėl teks vaizdus guglinti). Knygoje meistriškai pateikti megameno pardavėjų Iwano Wirtho, Davido Zwirnerio, Arne’s Glimcherio ir Larry’o Gagosiano portretai, leidžiantys nubrėžti ir susidaryti tam tikrą aukštosios meno rinkos žemėlapį. Tačiau perskaitęs apie menininkų gaunamus kišenpinigius nuo 50 tūkst. JAV dolerių per mėnesį ar, tarkim, apie kai kurių meno kūrėjų Niujorke turimas studijas, kurių dydis – 120 tūkst. kv. m, imi suprasti, kad menas nebėra menas, o meno galerijos seniai ne susitikimų ir pasibičiuliavimo vieta. Autoriui lengvai ir logiškai pavyksta paaiškinti, kodėl naujiesiems turtuoliams taip svarbu atsirasti galerijų sąrašuose. Ir tikrai ne dėl ryšių, kontaktų...
Ar verta skaityti, jei menu ir jo rinka domitės tik šiek tiek? Kategoriškai ne. Šis leidinys – išskirtinai meno rinkos profanui, ne mėgėjui.
Verdiktas? Knyga gera, tačiau kiek per ilga. Nors, jei atsižvelgsime į tai, jog pagrindinis siekis įrodyti, kodėl ir kaip šiuolaikinis menas tapo liukso klasės preke (slinktis nuo meno pasaulio prie meno rinkos ir pramonės), kuri naudojama kaip finansinis instrumentas, tuomet ir apimtis, ir kalbos maniera pateisina tikslą.
Išversta į lietuvių kalbą: NE | Įvertinimas: 9/10
Ar verta skaityti, jei menu ir jo rinka domitės tik šiek tiek? Kategoriškai ne. Šis leidinys – išskirtinai meno rinkos profanui, ne mėgėjui.
Verdiktas? Knyga gera, tačiau kiek per ilga. Nors, jei atsižvelgsime į tai, jog pagrindinis siekis įrodyti, kodėl ir kaip šiuolaikinis menas tapo liukso klasės preke (slinktis nuo meno pasaulio prie meno rinkos ir pramonės), kuri naudojama kaip finansinis instrumentas, tuomet ir apimtis, ir kalbos maniera pateisina tikslą.
Išversta į lietuvių kalbą: NE | Įvertinimas: 9/10
August 14, 2020
A non-fiction survey of 20th century contemporary artists and their dealers. It's an epic, sweeping recent history of all the movers and shakers that have helped make contemporary art popular, prominent, and most of all profitable.
It's a funny thing to consider the intersection of art and business, because it feels so wrong, doesn't it? Business and art are 2 opposite concepts. Artists are mercurial, business is logic and numbers. But it's so interesting to read and think about how to put a price on art, particularly a large group of things which many people (including myself) think are partially emporer's-new-clothesish. Contemporary art is controversial, and there are a number of dubiously-valued artists and artworks in this book.
But it's a huge industry worth a lot of money, and this book is the story of how it got that way. Like many things in our economy, what started as a group of smaller-scale merchants consolidated and consolidated until there are now only a few fabulously wealthy and powerful art dealers. I knew nothing about this before, and found it so interesting, even though I don't like contemporary art at all. This book is really about the business and the players.
The one drawback is there are SO many artists and dealers in this book (which is good; it means it's comprehensive) that it's a lot to keep track of and can make your head spin.
Since the book involved the above-mentioned mercurial artists, it included a lot of good stories involving various artists' dubious mental states, drug habits, acting-out, and strange and bizarre artistic methods (as well as a lot of impressive creativity and dedication).
It's a funny thing to consider the intersection of art and business, because it feels so wrong, doesn't it? Business and art are 2 opposite concepts. Artists are mercurial, business is logic and numbers. But it's so interesting to read and think about how to put a price on art, particularly a large group of things which many people (including myself) think are partially emporer's-new-clothesish. Contemporary art is controversial, and there are a number of dubiously-valued artists and artworks in this book.
But it's a huge industry worth a lot of money, and this book is the story of how it got that way. Like many things in our economy, what started as a group of smaller-scale merchants consolidated and consolidated until there are now only a few fabulously wealthy and powerful art dealers. I knew nothing about this before, and found it so interesting, even though I don't like contemporary art at all. This book is really about the business and the players.
The one drawback is there are SO many artists and dealers in this book (which is good; it means it's comprehensive) that it's a lot to keep track of and can make your head spin.
Since the book involved the above-mentioned mercurial artists, it included a lot of good stories involving various artists' dubious mental states, drug habits, acting-out, and strange and bizarre artistic methods (as well as a lot of impressive creativity and dedication).
September 25, 2021
As an artist.. anxiety pulsed through me. The market of art has never had much to do with actual art making and in fact.. sucks the joy out of creating.. yet.. i cannot deny the actual ness Edith for it. It is not enough to have something to say and share.. but one also needs a vehicle by which to disseminate it. It is not what you know.. but who you know has never been more poignantly highlighted than in the book Boom! It gives a great history of the rise and fall of dealers, and gallery owners themselves, specifically Leo Castelli and Larry Gagosian. It shows the leverage needed to have an art career and how it is constantly changing. It is a course in modern art's popularity, beginning with the abstract expressionists, and ending with installation and outsider art, and how social media has begun to change how consumers of art interact with it. It stops just short of NFT’s and the post pandemic art that we are emerging from yet leads into it with its examination of Instagram and its influence.
Many of my favorite artists, like George Condo, Joan Mitchell, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Liechtenstein Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kusama, Stella, and Dan Flavin, are highlighted with glimpse to what set them apart from the rest of the art word. Gerhard Richter was especially fascinating as much of his word will never be uncrated. I have read this makes his wealthy but sad. The art world is a secret club… and even more difficult to pass through the velvet rope than ever. Once I get past the notion that creating are and being an artist are two different beasts I think the book was great. It is well written and I’m glad I read it… I think…
Many of my favorite artists, like George Condo, Joan Mitchell, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Liechtenstein Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Yayoi Kusama, Stella, and Dan Flavin, are highlighted with glimpse to what set them apart from the rest of the art word. Gerhard Richter was especially fascinating as much of his word will never be uncrated. I have read this makes his wealthy but sad. The art world is a secret club… and even more difficult to pass through the velvet rope than ever. Once I get past the notion that creating are and being an artist are two different beasts I think the book was great. It is well written and I’m glad I read it… I think…
October 7, 2019
What a phenomenal book; BOOM: Mad Money, Mega Dealers and the Rise of Contemporary Art gives the reader a behind-the-scenes scoop on the art market—the buying and selling of art, the artists, the dealers and collectors. I say ‘collectors’ but what’s really going on is that there are a category of collectors with significant net worth who use art as financial vehicles—as a place to park their money, to invest, and/or to speculate. Art has become a commodity. Author Shnayerson does a marvelous job of describing the contemporary art market, which begins after World War II with the rise of the Abstract Expressionism, a movement founded in the United States.
Yet it’s a global market now involving a group of art dealers, primarily based in the United States and Europe, but who have clients and dealings worldwide. The dealers are key to the story, they are the ones who find the artists, who promote, and in some cases support them (financially and emotionally).
The book is divided into five parts each representing a decade or two, starting in 1947 up until 2019. Shnayerson has done extensive research—he covers major contemporary artists, the dealers of note, some of the new museums recently opened such as The Broad in Los Angeles, and most importantly events and dealings that have driven art prices to six and seven figures.
If you have an interest in art or museums, this book will be an interesting read. But be forewarned you’ll end up being jaded about the idea of art being bought and sold by people who are buying it for appreciation and enjoyment purposes.
Yet it’s a global market now involving a group of art dealers, primarily based in the United States and Europe, but who have clients and dealings worldwide. The dealers are key to the story, they are the ones who find the artists, who promote, and in some cases support them (financially and emotionally).
The book is divided into five parts each representing a decade or two, starting in 1947 up until 2019. Shnayerson has done extensive research—he covers major contemporary artists, the dealers of note, some of the new museums recently opened such as The Broad in Los Angeles, and most importantly events and dealings that have driven art prices to six and seven figures.
If you have an interest in art or museums, this book will be an interesting read. But be forewarned you’ll end up being jaded about the idea of art being bought and sold by people who are buying it for appreciation and enjoyment purposes.
December 3, 2020
This would have been a great book about the history of the Globalization & Financialisation of the art market, if the author had been a bit more interested in the structural side of the wheelings and dealings of the very big personalities he describes in lovingly details. But, in fairness, this was never the goal of the book. So if you‘re starting to be interested in the mechanisms that transform painted cloth or crumpled paper into highly valuable products, Boom is a really good starting point. Shnayerson is good at showing how the art worlds fetishisation of big personalities & the cult of the entrepreneur / founder / Internet billionaire / finance guy dovetaile(d?) to produce the art world as a multi-billion dollar branch of the luxury goods & finance markets - and how the big players have become the big players. Since he has interviewed a lot of the people he writes about, one learns a lot about the mechanisms of the market and what changes the role of gallerists and dealers has underwent in the last 50 years. It‘s an easy & entertaining read & very far from the art world jargon that graces the websites of many art galleries and dealers.
December 31, 2019
This is a good overview of the last 60-odd years of the contemporary art market, from its inception in postwar America. It is very readable, organized chronologically, and strictures around the major “players” (the mega-dealers). But what the book crucially lacks is a macroscopic lens: a larger perspective allowing it to make sense of the tidal shifts in the market. The perspective chosen by the author is entirely anecdotal, and most of it could be gleaned from a careful reading of the art press of the last 15 years. There is, unfortunately, a very limited understanding of the larger economic and social forces that shape the art market: why have art fairs ballooned in number and importance? Is there a relationship between the art market and the luxury goods market? What is the impact of globalization and the internet on the structure of a traditional gallery? All of these questions may be broached in passing, but they are largely left unexamined and deserve fuller treatment.
November 11, 2019
This book is not as thorough as "Ninth Street Women" which charted the rise of art in New York City from 1950-1980s through the lives of five artists, but "Boom" is the best book I've found for understanding the art galleries especially in New York from 1947-present. So much has changed from five New York galleries in the 1950s to 1500 galleries there today. Of these, the international Gagosian, Wirth, Zwirner and Pace galleries handle most of the multi-million dollar deals, laundering money worldwide for huge art pieces kept in private collections or warehouses. Shnayerson also describes how Artsy (online) offers value, the international art fair phenomenon, and how the galleries work with the auction houses. Good Bibliography. Shnayerson is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. This is his sixth book
July 2, 2020
"Boom" is a thorough study of the business of contemporary Art. Michael Shnayerson delves inside the rising prices of both the modern and contemporary global art markets. This book almost reads like a novel, but the extensive study of living artists and their works for sale is very real. This isn't a book about modern Art History per se. The global art market and the place of galleries, dealers, and auction houses is very much a large portion of current art chronicles. For anyone who enjoys the art world and its various characters as well as how the markets work, this is an excellent read. Also, for the art enthusiast, the book does cover a wide range of global artists who work in many different mediums. However, the book doesn't go into detail on the artist's aesthetics or studio habits.
August 31, 2019
"Boom" examines the evolution of the "art world" into the "art market". Shnayerson gives a comprehensive -- too comprehensive -- account of how the economics of art have dramatically changed from post WWII to the present. By too comprehensive, I mean that in his quest to provide the definitive account of the art market, Shnayerson felt compelled to squeeze in a mention of every major dealer, even if they are only mentioned in passing, which tended to make the narrative overlong and leaden. The more compelling aspects of "Boom" is the description of the gamesmanship behind driving up the value of an artist's work, or avoiding taxes, the use of art work to launder money. If you are more interested in the business side of art, this is the book for you.
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