The Value of Art By Michael Findlay

 

The Value of Art 

By Michael Findlay , Prestel, 2012

Art-lit appears to be an increasingly popular genre, from Sarah Thornton’s libel- causing Seven Days in the Art World to tales of ambitious gallerists in Steve Martin’s An Object of Beauty and Tom Wolf’s latest novel Back to Blood, set in the feeding frenzy that is the Miami Art Fair. And not to mention the plethora of ‘how to buy and sell art’ titles that date faster than a Women’s Weekly cookbook.

Sitting somewhere in between all these is Michael Findlay’s The Value of Art. It’s part market report, part memoir peppered with thoughts ranging from lack of sincerity of current collectors to the rapid rise and future predictions for the Asian art market.

As far as dealer pedigree goes, Findlay is at the top of the ladder. He is a director at Acquavella Galleries, New York and was previously Head of Impressionist and Modern Paintings then International Director of Fine Art at Christies, New York. While he can speak with great authority, it does seems odd considering where Findlay is situated to be criticising the behaviour and mentality of a market that he and his associates have undoubtedly profited from.  

Findlay divides the book into four sections, symbolically naming the first three for Zeus's daughters, the Three Graces, in order to analyse complexities of modern art.

Thalia is the Goddess of Fruitfulness thus representing the commercial marketplace and financial lures of art, candidly explaining exactly how money makes the art world go round, up and of late, down.

Part two is Euphrosyne, the Goddess of Joy, metaphor for the social aspect of art. This is both the positive, communal act that art stimulates as well as the social power that is derived from being part of the “Big Numbers” set.

The third section is Aglaea, for the Goddess of Beauty, which for Findlay is where the real, intrinsic value of art lies. The final section is ‘Marley's Ghost: Past, Present, Future’ where he bemoans the cult of the collector that now micro-manages the art world; the dangers of instant gratification in art and the superficial ‘glancing’ culture in which we live.

Given the top shelf art that Findlay has handled through his career, readers must steel themselves as even most quotidian examples he gives involve names that read like a room sheet at The Met.

Consequently he is much more compelling when he loses the ‘art speak’ and talks frankly about the industry he knows so well such as gallery and auction house PR being disguised as ‘news’ and industry gush replacing fair and learned criticism.

Findlay reinforces the mantra of all successful collectors: buy what you like not what you think the market will like and that the best investment you can make is in developing your eye and understanding. He advises collectors to look at all types of art and to get to know the dealers and artists but remain aware of the dynamic of these relationships.

Another tip is to be adventitious, dedicate a percentage of your buying budget for works by emerging artists because every established artist was once an ‘unknown’. And most importantly, if you love the art you live with its value will only ever increase.