I Bought Andy Warhol [Paperback]

So what was it like to be an art dealer in the go-go ‘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 ‘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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.