Visual Arts

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay $12 million for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock's drip painting No. 5, 1948 sell for $140 million? Intriguing and entertaining, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark is a Freakonomics approach to the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world. Why were record prices achieved at auction for works by 131 contemporary artists in 2006 alone, with astonishing new heights reached in 2007? Don Thompson explores the money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of the art world in an attempt to determine what makes a particular work valuable while others are ignored. This book is the first to look at the economics and the marketing strategies that enable the modern art market to generate such astronomical prices. Drawing on interviews with both past and present executives of auction houses and art dealerships, artists, and the buyers who move the market, Thompson launches the reader on a journey of discovery through the peculiar world of modern art. Surprising, passionate, gossipy, revelatory, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark reveals a great deal that even experienced auction purchasers do not know.

Acquiring contemporary art is about passion and lust, but it is also about branding, about the back story that comes with the art, about the relationship of money and status, and, sometimes, about celebrity.The Supermodel and the Brillo Boxfollows Don Thompson's 2008 bestsellerThe $12 Million Stuffed Sharkand offers a further journey of discovery into what the Crash of 2008 did to the art market and the changing methods that the major auction houses and dealerships have implemented since then. It describes what happened to that market after the economic implosion following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and offers insights and art-world tales from dealers, auction houses, and former executives of each, from New York and London to Abu Dhabi and Beijing. It begins with the story of a wax, trophy-style, nude upper-body sculpture of supermodel Stephanie Seymour by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, which sold for $2.4 million to New York über-collector and private dealer Jose Mugrabi, and recounts the story of a wooden Brillo box that sold for $722,500.The Supermodel and the Brillo Boxlooks at the increasing dominance of Christie's, Sotheby's, and a few über dealers; the hundreds of millions of new museums coming up in cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Beijing; the growing importance of the digital art world; and the shrinking role of the mainstream gallery.

In straightforward prose that doesn't mystify art or deny its special allure, prominent art dealer and market expert Michael Findlay offers an up-close and personal view of almost a half-century in the business of art. He engagingly explains art's three kinds of value: commercial; social; and what he terms its essential value - the range of responses to art that we as individuals have depending on our culture, education, and life experience. Few avid collectors are immune to the thrill of rising market value, but Findlay argues that buying for investment alone is seldom smart. A genuine love of art and the ways it may enrich one's social life also play important roles. Down-to-earth and with a touch of dry wit, he explains exactly how artworks are valued and reveals the workings of the art market. Enhancing his narrative are wise advice, insider anecdotes, and tales of scoundrels and scams, celebrity collectors, and remarkable discoveries. Generously illustrated, Findlay's distillation of a lifetime's experience makes this insider's guide indispensable for all who love art, not only collectors but true "amateurs" as well. AUTHOR: Michael Findlay One of the earliest dealers in SoHo, New York, he showcased major emerging artists including John Baldessari, Joseph Beuys, and Hannah Wilke. Named Head of Impressionist and Modern Paintings at Christie's in 1984, he later became its International Director of Fine Arts. Since 2000 he has been a director at Acquavella Galleries, New York, which in recent years has held major exhibitions of important Impressionist, modern, and contemporary masters. REVIEWS: "The Value of Art" is one of the best ever published on the art world."- ARTnews "Mr. Findlay passes along his own, entertaining view of the art world's evolution over the past few decades..." - The Wall Street Journal SELLING POINTS: Now available in an updated paperback edition Explains the market for art and its value for all 53 colour illustrations

This inspiring book leads the way to a new kind of advocacy--one that stops justifying the arts as useful to learning other subjects, and argues instead for the powerful lessons that the arts, like no other subjects, teach our children. Jessica Hoffmann Davis, a leading voice in the field of arts education, offers a set of principles and tools that will be invaluable to advocates already working hard to make the case and secure a strong place for the arts in education. She also reaches out to those who care deeply about education but have yet to consider what the arts uniquely provide. This book is for anyone willing to brave a new terrain in which the arts are finally embraced without apology! Book Features: An accessible overview of the shape and content of education in and across the arts. Discussion of the unique features of the arts and the invaluable learning they provide. A list of common objections to including the arts in our schools, with suggested responses for countering these arguments. Guidance for advocates that addresses mistakes of the past and suggests directions for the future. Personal narrative interludes that bring to life with humor and style the importance of the topic. "Nuts and bolts" information, including a glossary of relevant terms, recommended readings, and websites.