Rogues' Gallery : A History of Art and Its Dealers

Philip Hook takes the lid off the world of art dealing to reveal the brilliance, cunning, greed and daring of its practitioners. In a richly anecdotal narrative he describes the rise and occasional fall of the extraordinary men and women who over the centuries have made it their business to sell art to kings, merchants, nobles, entrepreneurs and museums. From its beginnings in Antwerp, where paintings were sometimes sold by weight, to the rich hauteur of the contemporary gallery in London, Paris and New York, art dealing has been about identifying what is intangible but infinitely desirable, and then finding clients for whom it is irresistible. Those who have purveyed art for a living range from tailors, spies and the occasional anarchist to scholars, aristocrats, merchants and connoisseurs, each variously motivated by greed, belief in their own vision of art and its history, or simply the will to win. The cast of characters includes Paul Durand-Ruel, the Impressionists' champion; Herwath Walden, who first brought Modernism into the limelight; Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, high priest of Cubism; Leo Castelli, dealer-midwife to Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art; and Peter Wilson, the charismatic Sotheby's chairman who made the auction room theatre. Philip Hook's history is one of human folly, greed and duplicity, interspersed with ingenuity, inspiration and acts of heroism. Rogues' Gallery is learned, witty and irresistibly readable. Here for the first time is the history of art dealers, those extraordinary men and woman who, over centuries (and almost entirely out of the public eye), built their profession on a singular skill: identifying the intangible but infinitely desirable qualities that characterize the greatest works of art'and finding clients for whom those qualities are irresistible. Philip Hook's riveting narrative takes us from the early days of art dealing in Antwerp, where paintings were sold by weight, to the unassailable hauteur of contemporary galleries in New York, London, Paris, and beyond. Along the way, we meet a surprisingly wide-ranging cast of characters'from tailors, spies, and the occasional anarchist to scholars, aristocrats, and connoisseurs, some compelled by greed, some by their own vision of art'and some by the art of the deal. Among them are Joseph Duveen, who almost single-handedly brought the Old Masters to America; Paul Durand-Ruel, the Impressionists' champion; Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, high priest of Cubism; Leo Castelli, dealer-midwife to Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art; and Peter Wilson, the charismatic Sotheby's chairman who made a theater of the auction room. Rogues' Gallery bursts with unforgettable anecdotes and astute judgments about art and artists, honed by Hook's more than forty years in the art market'making it essential reading for anyone interested in the hidden history of art This is a story about rivalry among artists. Not the kind of rivalry that grows out of hatred and dislike, but rather, rivalry that emerges from admiration, friendship, love. The kind of rivalry that existed between Degas and Manet, Picasso and Matisse, Pollock and de Kooning, and Freud and Bacon. These were some of the most famous and creative relationships in the history of art, driving each individual to heights of creativity and inspiration - and provoking them to despair, jealousy and betrayal. Matisse's success threatened Picasso so much that his friends would throw darts at a portrait of his rival's beloved daughter Marguerite, shouting 'there's one in the eye for Matisse!' And Willem de Kooning's twisted friendship with Jackson Pollock didn't stop him taking up with his friend's lover barely a year after Pollock's fatal car crash. In The Art of Rivalry , Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee explores how, as both artists struggled to come into their own, they each played vital roles in provoking the other's creative breakthroughs - ultimately determining the course of modern art itself. Lord Hindlip Presided Over London's Auction House Christie's During A Time Of Great Excitement In The Art World. The 1960s, 70s And Early 80s Saw The Wholesale Denuding Of Country Houses And Ransacking Of Attics Right Across The Country - Yielding Genuine Treasures And Fakes (both Cunning And Clumsy) In Equal Measure. Both Memoir And Art Book, 'triumphs And Disasters' Recounts Lord Hindlip's Career Through The Major Works Of Art That Have Passed Through His Hands Over The Last Fifty Years. His Story Charts Such Extraordinary Highs As The Sale Of Van Gogh's Sunflowers For A Then World-record Sum, As Well As The Often Hilarious Lows, Including A Wild Goose Chase Across The Badlands Of Rural America Which Led Him To A Gun-toting Recluse And A Cherished Pile Of Tat Masquerading As Old Master Paintings. This Lavishly Produced Book Is Generously Illustrated With Photographs Of All The Works Of Art That Came To Define Lord Hindlip's Tenure As Chairman Of Christie's. Charles Hindlip. Includes Index. Vincent van Gogh created some of the best loved - and most expensive - works of art ever made, from the early The Potato Eaters to his late masterpieces Sunflowers and The Starry Night . He had worked as an art dealer, a missionary and as a teacher in England, and only in his late twenties did he begin a life that would be fundamental in shaping modern art. But when he died in Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890 at the age of thirty-seven he was largely unknown. Written with the cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum, Pulitzer-winning authors Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith recreate his extraordinary life, and the inside of his troubled mind, like never before - and they put forward an explosive new theory challenging the widespread belief that Van Gogh took his own life. Drawing for the first time on all of his (and his family's) extensive letters, which offer exquisite glimpses into his thoughts and feelings, this is the definitive portrait of one of the world's cultural giants. Philip Hook takes the lid off the world of art dealing to reveal the brilliance, cunning, greed and daring of its practitioners. In a richly anecdotal chronological narrative he describes the rise and occasional fall of the extraordinary men and women who over the centuries have made it their business to sell art to kings, merchants, nobles, entrepreneurs and museums. From its beginnings in Antwerp, where paintings were sometimes sold by weight, to the rich hauteur of the contemporary gallery in London, Paris and New York, art dealing has, he shows, been about identifying what is intangible but infinitely desirable, and then finding clients for whom it is irresistible. Those who have purveyed art for a living range from tailors, spies and the occasional anarchist to scholars, aristocrats, merchants and connoisseurs, each variously motivated by greed, belief in their own vision of art and its history, or simply the will to win. Philip Hook's history is one of human... Lord Hindlip presided over London's auction house Christie's during a time of great excitement in the art world. The 1960s, '70s and early '80s saw the wholesale denuding of country houses and ransacking of attics right across the country - yielding genuine treasures and fakes (both cunning and clumsy) in equal measure. Both memoir and art book, An Auctioneer's Lot recounts Lord Hindlip's career through the major works of art that have passed through his hands over the last fifty years. His story charts such extraordinary highs as the sale of Van Gogh's Sunflowers for a then world-record sum, as well as the often hilarious lows, including a wild goose chase across the badlands of rural America which led him to a gun-toting recluse and a cherished pile of tat masquerading as Old Master paintings. This lavishly produced book is generously illustrated with photographs of all the works of art that came to define Lord Hindlip's tenure as chairman of Christie's Like Sherlock Holmes' dog in the night time, sometimes the true significance of things lies in their absence. Rick Gekoski tells the very human stories that lie behind some of the greatest losses to artistic culture - and addresses the questions such disappearances raise. Some of the items are stolen (the Mona Lisa ), some destroyed (like Philip Larkin's diaries) and some were lost before they even existed, like the career of the brilliant art deco architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which floundered amid a lack of cash - but behind all of them lies an often surprising story which reveals a lot about what art means to us. Gekoski explores the greater questions these tremendous losses raise - such as the rights artists and authors have over their own work, the importance of the search for perfection in creativity, and what motivated people to queue to see the empty space where the Mona Lisa once hung in the Louvre. Vincent van Gogh created some of the best loved - and most expensive - works of art ever made, from the early The Potato Eaters to his late masterpieces Sunflowers and The Starry Night. He had worked as an art dealer, a missionary and as a teacher in England, and only in his late twenties did he begin a life that would be fundamental in shaping modern art. But when he died in Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890 at the age of thirty-seven he was largely unknown. This book recreate his extraordinary life - and the inside of his troubled mind - like never before. Drawing for the first time on all of his (and his family's) extensive letters, which offer exquisite glimpses into his thoughts and feelings, this is the definitive portrait of one of the world's cultural giant Like Sherlock Holmes's dog in the night time, sometimes the true significance of things lies in their absence. Rick Gekoski tells the very human stories that lie behind some of the greatest losses to artistic culture - and addresses the questions such disappearances raise. Some of the items are stolen (the Mona Lisa), some destroyed (like Philip Larkin's diaries, shredded, then burnt, on his dying request) and some were lost before they even existed, like the career of the brilliant art deco architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which foundered amid a lack of cash - but behind all of them lies Picasso & Matisse. Manet & Degas. Pollack & de Kooning. Lucian Freud & Francis Bacon. This is the story of four pairs of artists -- each linked by friendship and a spirit of competitiveness. Taken together, they form an impressive lineage stretching across more than 150 years. But in each case, these relationships had a flashpoint, a damaging psychological event that seemed to mark both an end and a new beginning, a break that led onto new creative innovations. -- publisher's statement. "Picasso & Matisse. Manet & Degas. Pollack & de Kooning. Lucian Freud & Francis Bacon. This is the story of four pairs of artists-- each linked by friendship and a spirit of competitiveness. Taken together, they form an impressive lineage stretching across more than 150 years. But in each case, these relationships had a flashpoint, a damaging psychological event that seemed to mark both an end and a new beginning, a break that led onto new creative innovations"-- Provided by publisher These are the stories behind some of the greatest losses to artistic culture, including some works which have never even existed. Read about the 'ghost story' of Joyce's poem 'Et Tu, Healy', written when he was nine, which then disappeared without a trace, as well as how a long-lost document led a desperate forger to plant bombs, and how the most extravagant book binding ever made sank with the Titanic. All of these losses raise greater questions about our relationship with art. Vincent van Gogh created some of the best loved - and most expensive - works of art ever made, from the early The Potato Eaters to his late masterpieces Sunflowers and The Starry Night. Drawing on previously unseen primary materials, the authors shed new light on the artist's troubled romantic life and provide a startling new theory of his early death Draws on newly available primary sources to present an in-depth, accessible profile that offers revisionist assessments of the influential artist's turbulent life and genius works Join the auctioneer extraordinaire on his adventures in the world of art sales.