Landscape With Figures: A History of Art Dealing in the United States

by Malcolm Goldstein

How did the United States become not only the leading contemporary art scene in the world, but also the leading market for art? The answer has to do not only with the talents of American artists or even the size of the American economy, but also--and especially--the skills and
entrepreneurship of American art dealers. Their story has not been told...until now.
Landscape with Figures is the first history of art dealing in the United States, following the profession from eighteenth-century portrait and picture salesmen in the colonies to the high-profile, jet-set gallery owners of today. Providing anecdotal and carefully researched biographies of the
prominent dealers from more than two centuries of trade, author Malcolm Goldstein shows how magnanimous personalities and social networking helped to shape the way Americans have bought and valued art. These dealers range from Michael Paff, whose enthusiasm often overshadowed his expertise but
nonetheless helped him sell faux Old Master paintings to major collectors in the early nineteenth century; to the imperious Joseph Duveen, dealer to magnates like Henry Clay Frick; to visionary Leo Castelli, who helped to usher in a revolution in modern art during the 1960s by showing such
avant-garde artists as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol. Goldstein also shows that the American art trade, while male-dominated, has been galvanized by female dealers, including the inimitable Edith Gregor Halpert, Peggy Guggenheim, and Mary Boone. Their fascinating stories
unfold in the context of world art history, the rise of major art institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum, and the growing zeal of art collectors who would eventually pay millions for individual works of art.
Unprecedented and critical to understanding today's art world, Landscape with Figures is a must for artists, art history students, and art lovers.

Genres: Art

370 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Henry Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly niche title, Landscape with Figures is—arguably—as the subtitle suggests—'A History of Art Dealing in the United States.' More specifically it is a collection of portraits of dealers strung together in chronological order. There isn't a lot of stepping away from the profile format here, and I imagine there is another book to be written that delves more deeply into the landscape of dealing, the culture, economics, challenges, rewards and how these shift and change throughout time. As an introduction to the history of dealing, Landscape with Figures, succeeds, but the author could have done a little more structural work to make the book more dynamic. That said, there are some fun facts, figures and anecdotes and a good notes section, though no bibliography, which I might expect from OUP.

[Mike Zickar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating history of art dealing in the US. My only frustration was that the book really doesn't get exciting until around 1900, probably because the historical record is skant before that time and the author had little to go on.