by:
Polsky, Richard

Publisher:
Harry N. Abrams
Published:June 1, 2003
ISBN:0810942712
Format:Hardcover
Pages:256

Description: Amazon.com
So what was it like to be an art dealer in the go-go and#145;80s? California-based private dealer Richard Polsky drops some juicy anecdotes into an account of his quest to add a Warhol painting to his personal collection. The title of his book, I Bought Andy Warhol, is a wink-wink reference to a film about a disgruntled Factory member who shot the artist in 1968. Polsky's attitude is wryly bemused as he recounts tales of practical jokes, petty grudges, peculiar dining experiences, and other indignities that befall a little guy in a world of sharks. The cast of characters includes heavyweight New York dealers Ivan Karp, Jim Corcoran, and Larry Gagosian as well as mid-range collectors and artists better known in California than in Manhattan. Warhol himself makes no personal appearances, though Polsky assiduously tracks fluctuations in the superstar's market value. Along the way, there are useful nuggets ranging from questions a potential art buyer should ask a dealer to typical auction house pricing strategies. The author is a likeable character who demonstrates surprising candor about trying to make a living in the early and#145;90s, when art prices plummeted. While some readers may be taken aback by Polsky's relentless stress on the monetary worth of a work of art as opposed to its aesthetic value, his book is a gossipy account of running a unique kind of business, selling one-of-a-kind products in a highly volatile market. -Cathy Curtis

From Publishers Weekly
When Warhol died in 1987, Polsky, owner of San Francisco's Acme Art gallery, committed $100,000 and the next 12 years to obtaining a Warhol original, hoping to "join the elite group of people who recognized [Warhol's] brilliance and owned a small but glamorous part of it." Readers who expect that statement to foreshadow disenchantment will wait in vain. As a reputable dealer, artnet.com contributor and the author of serial Art Market Guides, Polsky brings the uninitiated an authoritative,... read more

Book Description
In the tradition of Liar's Poker and Kitchen Confidential, the inside scoop on one man's quest to own the perfect Warhol painting.

In 1987 art dealer Richard Polsky set aside $100,000 to purchase for his private collection a painting by famed Pop artist Andy Warhol--a process that took him 12 years. His journey, spanning the art world of the go-go 1980s to the recession of the 1990s, is recounted in this funny, fast-paced, and intensely readable expose.

Artists, gallery owners, auction houses, and collectors all play a role in this entertaining tale that illuminates not only Warhol the person--and his place in art history--but also the machinations and marketing that fueled his celebrity, driving the price of his paintings to the top of the market (in 1998 publisher Si Newhouse bought Orange Marilyn for $17.3 million--the highest price ever paid per square inch for a work of contemporary art). As an industry insider, Polsky reveals the relationships that make the art world go round. I Bought Andy Warhol is a behind-the-scenes look at that world--a look that reveals it to be filled with humor, hypocrisy, gossip, greed, manipulation, and money.