 | Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com | A Q&A with Richard Polsky
Question: In 1987, you set aside $100,000 to buy an Andy Warhol painting. Your 2003 memoir I Bought Andy Warhol chronicled your search to acquire that painting, which ended in the purchase of a "Fright Wig." I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon) is the story of what happened when you sold your beloved Warhol. Why did you sell? Was it worth it? Richard Polsky: As you know, I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon) is about selling my hard-won Andy Warhol “Fright Wig” painting, which was a direct result of being under financial pressure from my former wife. As she put it, "Would you rather look at me or your painting?" The question of whether it was worth it is far more complex. From the standpoint of personal self-esteem, absolutely not. I felt like I had let myself down and in an odd way had let Warhol himself down. Financially, though, it was the right thing to do. I sold at what I thought was an opportune time and got what seemed like a strong price. I had paid $47,500 and sold it for $375,000. The irony to the situation, and hence the title to the book, was if I had only waited two years I might have gotten as much as $2 million. Question: You take the art world to task in your new book, calling the business of buying and selling art "high school with money." What do you mean by this and where do you fit in? Richard Polsky: Referring to the art world as "high school with money" may have been too generous. At times, it feels more like “grade school with money.” What I mean by this is that there is an inordinate amount of juvenile behavior in my industry. Because anyone can become an art dealer, since there are no qualifying exams to take, the business attracts plenty of people that are under qualified. Often, they are misfit children of the rich, or worse yet, children of art dealers. They lack a background in art history and the history of art dealing, as well. This may sound self-serving, but I happen to be one of the few exceptions, in that I don’t come from a privileged upbringing and I’ve worked hard to become knowledgeable in both the art itself and the history of the art business. Question: You write lovingly of your "Fright Wig," calling it "more than just an investment; it was part of my soul." As a dealer, how do you balance your appreciation of art for art’s sake with the business of selling art? Richard Polsky: A dealer’s biggest quandary is balancing his love of art with the reality of having to make a living (that is to say those few souls who actually need to earn money). In my case, I used to collect the artists I dealt and at one time owned a major Joseph Cornell "Aviary" (bird box), a John Chamberlain crushed auto-metal sculpture from the 1960s, and an Andy Warhol portrait of Chairman Mao. It was a mixed blessing, but the art appreciated and I decided it was prudent to cash out--and greatly missed the art. Having learned my lesson, I now only collect work by artists who I don’t deal in. Most of what I own are paintings by friends--emerging and mid-career talent. Since the work has negligible resale value, I can enjoy it and don’t feel compelled to rush out and sell it. Question: There is the public perception that the art world is elitist and therefore inaccessible to the average American, and yet it’s getting its own reality show thanks to Sarah Jessica Parker. How would you wish to see both public perception change and the industry itself change? Richard Polsky: It’s not so much that the art market needs to change. Serious art by its very nature can’t be for everyone in much the same way serious literature, wine, food, dance, and music can’t be. Enjoying art requires that the viewer educate himself. It’s kind of like learning about wine--you have to drink a lot. Art is the same way--you have to look a lot. That means going to museums, galleries, and reading art books. I just don’t think most people are curious enough to do that. I would like to see the industry itself change. Ideally, I would love for art dealers to have to become certified and pass a serious exam, much like an attorney passing the bar or a physician taking the medical boards. If that happened, I think it would expand the art market by giving a wider swath of potential collectors greater confidence in it. Question: What interests you today, as a collector and as a dealer? Richard Polsky: My personal interests as a collector includes collecting fossils, minerals, and natural history specimens. I’m also interested in the work of the woodcut artist Gustave Baumann. Briefly, he worked in Santa Fe during the twenties and thirties and produced the most extraordinary woodcut prints imaginable. His subject matter varied from the Southwest landscape, especially the Grand Canyon, to American Indian iconography, often abandoned pueblos--Baumann’s work breathed nature and was filled with soul. My interest as a dealer remains the Pop artists. They come from an authentic place in the art world--the days where it was still about making art rather than building careers. There’s also something about how they drew inspiration from popular culture that still rings true.
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Average Customer Rating:   An interesting read for anyone who is interested in art This is a chatty, informative and even, at times, humorous look at the comings and goings in the world of selling and buying fine art. The author had one of the Andy Warhol "Fright Wig" paintings and he sold it at an auction for a price that completely satisfied him. Of course, in two years the painting was sold again for triple the price. Now it is worth in the millions. Hence the book's title.
If you are not much interested in art I don't think you would enjoy this book. I liked it myself, but I teach Art History. Students often are amazed at the price of fine art and this books gives some very good background. On the art scene. This was a fun read and names names.
I like the style and approach, honest and revealing about the players; kind of like Kruk and Kuip who
broadcast the SF Giants games as opposed to Orel Hirsheiser and Steve Phillips whose one dimensional
approach is to lecture on the minutia of baseball theory ad nauseum (on ESPN), dissecting each and every second of the game as if we were retards.
Having read references to and about Ivan Karp, Illeana Sonnabend, Clement Greenberg, et al, in Art News, Art Forum and other texts, it was fun to read about the idiosyncracies of the Pop Art and later day players from a player's perspective (rather than a critics). In that regard, it's interesting that RP didn't mention one art critic in the book. I wonder what his views on art critics is, and what the politics of that field is.
If you have any eye for aesthetics, you probably lament art works you passed up too. I could have bought a Warhol large flower painting from Foster-White in Seattle for practically nothing when they first came out. I really liked the image, but was too cheap to pull the trigger. also could have bought a Ruscha Standard Oil image; had it in my hands when in L.A. but same thing.
My position in the art world is as a minor, minor, outsider. Even the local art gallery won't show my work,even though I have been juried into several shows at museums and galleries. I think my work isn't commercial enough. Which brings up Bill Anton. Nice paintings, but boring; just mho. Does anyone buy paintings of Yosemite Falls anymore?
A Great Read! What a great sequel to his first book. I really enjoyed this book like a great art salesman he tells a series of events all centered on his quest for a new Warhol..
It is fascinating, informative and a fun read. You really cannot ask for more. I am eagerly awaiting another book from you Richard, Thank You for the hours of enjoyment in telling your tale
A first rate exposé of the art world...and one hell of an entertaining read. It doesn't matter if you're an art aficionado or neophyte...this book will inform and entertain you at the same time. I would even recommend this book to anyone that just wants to read a great non-fiction book.
When I started reading the book, I read the first 50 pages in the blink of an eye. I had to pace myself not to read the entire book all in one night...the book is that good.
Richard Polsky is like the "Robert Langdon" of the art world. He is an art dealer / adviser that has somehow done the impossible...unveiled the "other" side of the art world that most of us, if not all of us, have no idea even exists.
Anyone that has ever wondered how one acquires a piece of art, from a $1,000 local artist to a $1,000,000 Warhol, would be startled to realize what exactly goes on behind the scenes. Well, thanks to Mr. Polsky, now I know.
What I love most about this book is that it gives us an insightful look at the evolution of artists and their art, in every aspect, over the last 40+ years (from pop art's iconic Andy Warhol to modern artists like Damien Hirst)...to what high art has possibly become today, nothing more than another tradeable commodity.
What makes a painting worth $50,000,000? Is it its artistic value? Maybe. Is it because the color of the painting is what's in at the moment? Maybe. Is it a status symbol game between billionaires to see who can spend more? Maybe. Is it because it was marketed by an auction house that made the price go up? Maybe. Is it because a powerful art dealer floated a rumor that the painting is worth $50,000,000? Maybe.
After reading this book, I'm even more intrigued with the art world than I was before. Read this book. You'll love it.
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