Follow the money as you read of the origins of art as a market in NYC and around the globe, begetting dealer, galleries, and collectors, and making celebrities of contemporary artists. Shnayerson takes Dear Reader through a timeline of the rise of art as investment, exposing the politics behind the scenes, and carefully rendering the oft tenuous dealer-artist relationships. It’s an interesting read for anyone if you can keep track of the names! I was fortunate to receive a copy from PublicAffairs through NetGalley.

4 " gossipy, exhaustive,incredulous" stars !!

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.

For some reason I thought I was going to be more interested to learn more about the contemporary art scene but it appears I was wrong. Quite frankly I just couldn't make myself care enough to pay attention and I kept zoning out.

The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. There were many facts that I only discovered after reading this!

If you're not sure why certain artwork is so expensive, or how the price of art is determined, you should check out Boom. It's a fascinating read about the art market and the business of art, and I think those who don't understand art would find Boom very insightful.

Behind all of those canvases, the contemporary art world is backed by a collection of larger than life personalities. Art dealers. These are the movers and shakers of an artistic and financial movement that has been functioning since the 1940s. From the beginning galleries and their unsure futures to the continual modern multi-million dollar sales, this is the story of the wild group that has shaped world of contemporary art.

Author Michael Shnayerson opens in the present with a fascinating look at a the 2017 Art Basel fair, a regular gathering of dealers with a single goal: make sales. Here, he highlights four of the leading dealers, including the ever-profitable Larry Gagosian. There’s a thick air of competition that hangs over the proceedings, but also an undercurrent of fun and appreciation that always seeps into the arts. Having laid out where this movement ends up, Shnayerson pulls back from the glitzy showcase and pushes the narrative to the humble beginnings of contemporary art.

Jackson Pollock. Andy Warhol. Jeff Koons. Giants of the art world. And yet Shnayerson manages to stretch the focus away from these individuals in favor of dealers such as Leo Castelli and Mary Boone. This is easy to do, partly because their personalities are so big; their dealings so compelling. But it’s also because of Shnayerson’s commitment to research. His resources have obviously been meticulously compiled, and his interviews with many of the players throughout this period are unparalleled. Each chapter is backed with copious quotes and anecdotes, adding a deep air of authority while also keeping a thorough topic highly readable.

Even as the book showcases a closeness to the subjects, Shnayerson presents what feels like a full examination, warts and all. Dealers continually snipe both artists and art from others. Artists struggle in a professional selling environment. Even the dealers buy, sell, and trade art in a way that has turned the field into something like Wall Street. And in the end? It’s resulted in a volatile art community that’s bigger than ever.

Though it would be easy to cast this book aside as merely for art lovers and followers, that mentality does it a disservice. Yes, some with a deep understanding of the field will perk up at the myriad of behind the scenes moments presented, but others will drift into a book that crosses beyond niche. It’s both art and high drama; about business and a human need for success. But most of all, it’s a great read.

Can’t imagine a more comprehensive or wonderfully written view of the modern and contemporary art world. In easy, fluid prose, Shnayerson takes the reader from the discriminating galleries and collectors of the freeing post-War era to the feeding frenzy of today’s gazillionaire buyers and cut-throat dealers. In that time, artists and their work were nearly transformed into carnival performers and hedge fund assets. Few pages go by without the appearance of riveting characters, their unique stories and the groundbreaking works they created, bought or sold .I don’t know when the scene stopped being moving and fascinating into being a bit too psycho for me (somewhere around when mutilated sharks in lucite and giant metal balloon puppies sold for staggering sums), but it all makes for an amazing saga.

Fascinating history of the art world through the lens of the dealers and buyers who changed the game.

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. *

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.

I was so excited about this title. Yet, as I have been reading out swimming through the depth of the book. I realize that my Art knowledge is woefully limited and have so much to learn.

A If you have heard of the Basel art fair if you know who Peggy Guggenheim was and Mary Boone is this is a book for you.A delicious look at the art world from art galleries opening in Manhattan a place where Jackson Pollocks paintings were sold to Soho galleries from Picasso to Warhol.This is a fun look of the egos the talent the fabulous money spent by collectors the wealth gallery owners made selling these artists..Eye opening shocking a gossipy delicious well written look at a world most of us just read about,Highly recommend #netgalley #boom#persusbooks,
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