On the tenth anniversary of its publication, this updated edition of a work ARTNews hailed as “one of the best books ever published on the art world” features new material on the latest art deals, reflections on race and culture, the impact of the pandemic on the art world, and more.
Internationally renowned dealer and market expert Michael Findlay offers a lively and authoritative look at the financial and emotional value of art throughout history. In this newly revised, updated, and generously illustrated edition Findlay draws on a half-century in the business and a passion for great art to question and redefine what we mean by “value,” addressing developments in this conversation since the book was first published in 2012: the rise of NFTs and digital art; the auction house as theatre; the pressing relationship between art and society’s fraught political landscape; and the impact of the pandemic. With style and wry wit, Findlay demystifies how art is bought and sold while also constantly looking beyond sales figures to emphasize the primacy of art’s essential, noncommercial worth. Coloring his account with wise advice, insider anecdotes involving scoundrels and scams, stories of celebrity collectors, and remarkable discoveries, Findlay has distilled a lifetime’s experience in this indispensable guide, now updated for today’s sophisticated and discerning audience.
Biography
Michael Findlay
Michael Findlay is a director of Acquavella Galleries in New York City. A private art dealer for more than four decades, he was also International Director of Fine Arts at Christie’s auction house. His previous books include The Expert Versus the Object: Judging Fakes and False Attributions in the Visual Arts and Seeing Slowly—Looking at Modern Art, which was also published by Prestel.