Welcome to Reading the Art World. Today we are speaking with curator, scholar, author, and my dear friend Ruth Fine, whose latest book Frank Stewart's Nexus: An American Photographer’s Journey, 1960’s to the Present, was published this month by Rizzoli. This is the first complete monograph and retrospective on Frank Stewart’s sixty-year career as a photographer. Since the 1960’s he’s captured spontaneous and sensitive portrayals of African American culture in many forms, including, art, food, dance and music—especially jazz.

“Jazz plays its role in Frank Stewart’s work even when it’s not about jazz. Issues of rhythm are very important to him, issues of a comprehensive conversation — that call and response. If you look at the photographs clearly, no matter what the subject is, you’ll very often find a call and response, and you’ll find a moment that feels jazz-like even when it’s not jazz-like." — Ruth Fine

Between 1972 and 2012, Ruth Fine served first Curator of Modern Prints and Drawings and later Curator of Special Projects in Modern Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Among other shows at the NGA, Ruth coordinated the exhibitions and projects for Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, John Maron, Georgia O'Keefe, Crown Point Press, Gemini G.E.L Graphic Studio, and the collections of Lessing J. Rosenwald and Dorothy and Herbert Vogel. Additionally, Ruth coordinated the Gallery’s 1994 catalogue raisonné of Roy Lichtenstein's prints (revised 2002) and was co-coordinator of the 1999 Georgia O'Keeffe catalogue raisonné, undertaken with the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation.

Now based in Philadelphia, Ruth is chair of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and working on a print distribution project with the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.

It was through Ruth’s role as curator of Special Projects in the Modern Art department at the National Gallery that Ruth first met Frank Stewart in early 2000. From that point on, they stayed in touch. Ruth shares a wonderfully compilation of stories from their lifelong friendship in our conversation today.

“The thing is — and this is what I tell all my students — you’re not making art for people you don’t like. You’re making art for yourself and the strangers that like it, whatever time or place they’re living in —  now and somebody 50 years from now, in China or Russia, as well as New York or Savannah." — Frank Stewart

The launch of the book accompanies the exhibition of Stewart’s work that will open in June at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and then travels to The Baker Museum in Naples, Florida and The Telfair Museum in Savannah, GA through 2024. On June 3rd, Gallery Neptune and Brown in Washington, D.C. opens an exhibit of Stewart’s jazz photographs.

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here.

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Welcome to Season Two of Reading the Art World. For our first episode, we are speaking with guest, author and cultural strategist András Szántó, whose latest book Imagining the Future Museum:  21 Dialogues with Architects, was published in January by Hatje Cantz. This is my second interview with András, who spoke with me just last year about his book: The Future of the Museum in Episode 8.

András is a widely published author and editor whose writings have appeared in the New York Times, Artforum, the Art Newspaper, and many international publications. He has directed the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University and has overseen the Global Museum Leaders Colloquium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Born in Budapest, András now lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Throughout 2020, András conducted a series of conversations with art-museum directors to talk about how museums around the world were evolving. Those conversations, described how museums were adapting to a changing society that required new software, but also new hardware (referring to the physical space) that has led him to his latest book 21 Dialogues with Architects. In this episode, we discuss András’ findings from the interviews he conducted with 21 of the most iconic architects.

“Across the board, whether you talk to a Chinese architect, or a Latin American architect, or a European architect, is this idea of opening up... Really turning the museum from this citadel or this temple on the hill, into something that is woven into the city and which embraces all of the community and all of the civic complexity that is at its front door." — András Szántó

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Edward Berthelot/Getty Images. Illustration by Artnet News.

Artnet News Pro included Katya Kazakina’s report on the phenomenon of ‘Gmail Art Advisors’ and her conversation with Megan Fox Kelly in their The Back Room weekly recap.

The Artnet News team shares that “With the bubble for some ultra-hot ultra-contemporary artists deflating before our eyes, Gmail Art Advisors seem to be disappearing left and right. Historically, that’s par for the course when easy commissions dry up and the work of advising gets hard. Unlike, say, the 151 internationally approved members of the Association of Professional Art Advisors (APAA), the Gmailers have no interest in, or aptitude for, the less glamorous, long-term responsibilities of the trade. Think: carefully researching provenance, inspecting condition, dealing with the shipping and customs headaches that often come from buying abroad, and more.”

Founded in 1980, the APAA is the only standard-setting organization for the practice of art advisory. Quoted in Kazakina’s article, Megan Fox Kelly states, “Undisclosed commissions from a gallery are a big no-no for an APAA member, as is holding inventory. The key is to always act in the best interest of a client, and uphold the greatest transparency.”

Read the roundup list here.

A view at Paris+ par Art Basel 2022. Courtesy of Art Basel.

Art market journalist Katya Kazakina reports on the phenomenon of ‘Gmail Art Advisors’ and spoke with Megan Fox Kelly about the role and ethical practice in the art advisory profession.

In her article, ‘Gmail Art Advisors’ Are a Pestilence on the Market. Luckily, They Are Starting to Melt Away, One by One (February 23, 2023) Kazakina investigates the recent influx of highly transactional ‘advisors’, sharing that “There’s a way to ferret out bad actors and find good ones. The Association of Professional Art Advisors, for example, has 151 approved members internationally, up from 111 in 2013, with its ranks including curators as well as consultants.”

Founded in 1980, the APAA is the only standard-setting organization for the practice of art advisory. Quoted in Kazakina’s article, Megan Fox Kelly shares, “Undisclosed commissions from a gallery are a big no-no for an APAA member, as is holding inventory. The key is to always act in the best interest of a client, and uphold the greatest transparency.”

Read the full article by Katya Kazakina here.

A conversation with Courtney J. Martin, co-author of the first monograph on celebrated British artist Cecily Brown, one of the most influential painters of our time. In this podcast, Courtney talks about her conversations and studio visits with Cecily that led her to a deeper understanding of the roots of her art and the threads of art history and personal history that underlie her paintings.

I had studied British artists that Cecily had been looking at, and so, as soon as I saw her work, I could see those references. I could see that training. I could see where she was pulling from, both in terms of the medium, but also a kind of fearlessness. - Courtney J. Martin

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Courtney J. Martin is the Paul Mellon Director of the Yale Center for British Art. Previously, she was the Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Dia Art Foundation, taught at Brown University and the University of California, Berkeley and worked at the Ford Foundation. She sits on the boards of the Chinati Foundation, the Center for Curatorial Leadership, Hauser & Wirth Institute and the Henry Moore Foundation.

Brown's symbolic language, exuberant brushwork, rich palette, intense energy, and embrace of the erotic have redefined some of painting's historical canons. We chose this book for our deep appreciation for Cecily Brown’s work who beautifully references historical artwork, while creating something new, bold and fearless. She is a British-born, New York-based artist who rose to prominence in the late 1990s. She established her unique voice within the art sphere by investigating the sensual qualities of oil paint and challenging the conventions of abstraction and figuration.

Cecily Brown, published by Phaidon in 2020, includes art historical essays from Jason Rosenfeld, novelist Francine Prose, and an in-depth interview with Courtney J. Martin.

Order the book here .

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Christie's James Bond charity auction raised £6m in October. Courtesy of Christie's.

Journalist Melanie Gerlis shares her art market insights on an an unprecedented year for charity auction sales and spoke with Megan Fox Kelly about recent auctions and opacity in market data.

In her article, ‘'The downside to art world altruism that no one talks about' (November 25, 2022) Gerlis reports on the recent philanthropic bent of the art market, reporting that “For the first half of this year, Christie’s reported that its charitable auctions had raised $440m, and confirms that 2022—taking into account November’s record-breaking $1.5bn auction of Paul G. Allen’s collection, whose proceeds are all earmarked for philanthropy—will be an unprecedented year for such sales.”

Quoted in Gerlis’ article, Megan Fox Kelly shares, “If a collector aligns with a particular charity then they can be willing to go a little beyond […] Buyers ultimately are still chasing the art more than the charitable cause and a philanthropic auction is an effective way to bring in donations from people who otherwise might not have supported their cause.”

Read the full article by Melanie Gerlis here.

A conversation with Jerry Saltz about his new book Art Is Life: Icons and Iconoclast, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night, published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Jerry Saltz is the winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism and a 2019 National Magazine Award. He is the Senior Art Critic at New York magazine and its entertainment site Vulture. In his writings for the Village Voice, Vulture, NY Magazine, the NY times, his lectures, talks, videos and posts, Jerry champions artists that have been too-long overlooked and those who are long—celebrated and he doesn’t hesitate to call out the most pressing political, societal and cultural crises of our times.  The through line in his writing is art—and the ways it can inspire and change lives.

Jerry talks about creativity saying:

“Demons will speak to you. They speak to everybody. And my simple advice to everybody is ‘grow up, you big baby.’ You are going to hear these voices. Nobody can say anything worse to you than you didn't say to yourself today. Nobody can lay you lower than you do. So in a way, they got nothing on you. So I do think that every artist, every writer, every creative person has to become comfortable with being this uncomfortable."

And on beginning his career in art criticism:

“I taught myself to write by reading Artforum when I was a long-distance truck driver and I didn't understand one word of what I read. Still, I've never missed an issue. But I knew I couldn't write in that voice. I tried, and I sounded like an idiot because I don't know all that translated theory from the 1980s that had been written in the 1970s. I couldn't write like that, so I started writing in my own dumb, beautiful, quirky, generic, whatever voice I have. I want the art world to be like great, what we used to call, telephone conversations, or late night in a bar conversations."

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Reading the Art World episode thirteen: a conversation with Michael Findlay, Director of Acquavella Galleries in New York City. A private art dealer for more than four decades, and previously the International Director of Fine Arts at Christie’s auction house. Michael draws on his several decades of experience and shares his insights on art and his work with artists and with collectors in the new edition of his book The Value of Art.

“What we've seen, of course, is that the growth of the art market in NFTs is celebrated with zeroes. It is not celebrated because the advent of the NFT has produced great art — it actually hasn’t. And the advent of many, many more well-deserving artists of color now being given a more central position on the art market stage, by museums and by galleries, is often celebrated by the commercial value of the works that are achieving. The barometer is not quality. The barometer is the highest auction price for this or that artist — or this or that NFT, for that matter."— Michael Findlay

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

I chose this book because I find that so much of the conversation around art and collecting and the art market lately is about ‘value’—but value in terms of price and investment and financial return—while Michael talks about “Value” in terms of the inherent value of the art itself—in addition to addressing pricing and the market.  His newest book gives us thoughtful perspective on how to think about art beyond price. The book abounds with anecdotes  of collectors and artists from The 19th century through today and how those stories tell about the market, investing, collecting, amassing and loving art.  If someone thinks this is just an investment guide, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that it is not.

“I’ve given the same advice to students, adult and younger, to visit a museum and not look at the label. It’s very, very difficult to do: to go to a museum and walk into a room and choose something to look at — or let something choose you. And go up and look at it, and not read the label until after you’ve had a really good look. People tend to go to a museum and read the labels first — and if they recognize the name, then they look at the painting. No, if they recognize the name, they take a photograph of the painting.”. — Michael Findlay

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Frieze London 2019. Photo by Linda Nylind. Courtesy of Linda Nylind/Frieze.

Journalist Melanie Gerlis reports on the historic value of the dollar, compared to six major currencies this month, and how it is making the next two weeks of art fairs in Europe all the more appealing for American collectors.

In her article, ‘Like Getting a 20 Percent Discount’: For U.S. Collectors at European Art Fairs, the Strong Dollar Means Everything Is on Sale’ (October 10, 2022) Gerlis reports on the effects of the rapid currency shifts, sharing that “for those outside the U.S. […] the economic headwinds are starting to burn—and requiring them to make adjustments.”

Quoted in Gerlis’ article, Megan Fox Kelly notes that, “Beyond the art fairs, collectors in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe may be feeling the pinch and are going to be looking to sell certain things—maybe not in the coming weeks, in the coming months.”

“Whether that happens at auction or on the private side, clients are on the lookout for consignments coming out of European collections. After all, if the artworks are sold in Europe, Americans will be able, essentially, to get them on sale.”

Read the full article by Melanie Gerlis here.

Reading the Art World episode twelve: a conversation with Gareth Harris, Chief Contributing Editor of The Art Newspaper, and previously its Deputy Editor, on his his recently launched book Censored Art Today.

If you look at it on a very basic level, I think this populist wave is continuing across the world with governments and that does have implications for artists and how censorship will come to be enforced as such. So on that level, I’m slightly worried that the populist governments, the authoritarian governments as such, will continue to clamp down. And that will have consequences for artist populations everywhere. — Gareth Harris

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

I chose Gareth’s book because it provides a careful and informed discussion of the many ways the centuries old issue of censorship has been increasing the last several years — and the surprising and not-so-surprising ways artistic expression is being suppressed.

Gareth Harris expertly analyzes the different contexts in which artists, museums and curators face restrictions today, investigating political censorship in China, Cuba and the Middle East; the suppression of LGBTQ+ artists in 'illiberal democracies'; the algorithms policing art online; Western museums and 'cancel culture'; and the narratives around 'problematic' monuments.

Gareth has written numerous articles for the Financial Times on the visual arts and the art market, and has also written for The New York Times, The Times (London), Apollo Magazine and Frieze.

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Follow Harris’ bi-monthly blog Trigger Warning for up-to-date censorship issues.

Risk Strategies invited Megan Fox Kelly to participate in The Art + Business Forum, a collection of moderated panel discussions designed for business and cultural leaders working for galleries, auction houses, museums, foundations, and collectors who are active in the market, as well as those who advise them from the fields of finance and law.

Megan participated on a panel titled Managing Insurance for Rapidly Changing Valuations alongside Blair Wunderlich (Risk Advisor, Risk Strategies) and Colleen Boyle (SVP, The Fine Art Group). The panel discussed questions such as “how do collectors manage insurance valuations in a white-hot market?” And “what should collectors consider when the market comes back down to earth?”

Learn more about Risk Strategies here.

Reading the Art World episode eleven: a conversation with Emily A. Beeny, curator at The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and co-author with Francesca Whitlum-Cooper of the book, Poussin and the Dance, published in 2021 by the J. Paul Getty Museum.

One of the reasons for organizing this exhibition was to offer visitors, and readers of the book, a different way into this artist, to open up a means of considering his work through our own embodied experience. Yes, it is important to have an understanding of classical mythology to really get into the weeds with Poussin, which are a very fun place to be. But in order to derive joy from his work, I think the dancing pictures demonstrate to us that maybe you just need to have danced at your cousin's wedding. Maybe there's a way of looking at these pictures that draws on more universal experiences, too. — Emily A. Beeny

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

In this episode, we take an in-depth look at Nicolas Poussin in 17th century Rome—a city rich with classical sculpture from antiquity and Renaissance paintings that led the artist to formulating an entirely new style of painting. This style would make Poussin the model for three centuries of artists in the French classical tradition, from Jacques-Louis David and Edgar Degas to Paul Cézanne and Pablo Picasso. Long considered one of the most influential French painters of the 17th century, the French Neoclassicist Poussin is seen in a wholly new light.

Co-author Emily A. Beeny talks with me about how Poussin’s paintings from the 1620s and 1630s of gods and goddesses, biblical and historical figures, are choreographed across his canvases like dancers on a stage. Tracing the motif of dance throughout this period, the book examines how Poussin devised new methods of composition and depicting motion. We explore Poussin’s artistic process and influences, notably his use of wax figurines to choreograph the compositions he drew and painted.

Poussin and the Dance is the first exhibition and first published study devoted to Poussin’s dancing pictures.

The publication was produced in tandem with the exhibition at the National Gallery in London (October 2021 - January 2022) and at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles (February - May 2022).

The Realm of Flora, 1631, by Nicolas Poussin. Collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.

For more information about our podcast Reading the Art World and our advisory practice, visit us at meganfoxkelly.com

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Reading the Art World episode ten: a conversation with Marguerite Steed Hoffman, avid art collector and philanthropist and Gavin Delahunty , Dallas-based curator about their book Amor Mundi: The Collection of Marguerite Steed Hoffman.

I hope one of the things that young collectors or maybe old collectors will think about and reflect on as they look through the book is their own journey and all the relationships that they have had, that have led them to their own place, wherever they are as collectors That it’s not just a series of transactions. — Marguerite Steed Hoffman

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

This two-volume book reveals the thinking behind the remarkable art collection built by Marguerite and her late husband Robert Hoffman—a collection of exceptional quality formed with a personal passion and an eye toward its ultimate public legacy as a gift to the Dallas Museum of Art. The book and our conversation are a study in collecting—how to collect thoughtfully and with intention to create something that is more than an assemblance of great objects.

Published by Ridinghouse, the book features over 400 works of modern and contemporary art from the collection, and in an inspired stroke: essays and reflections by 30 authors— not only art historians, but artists writing about artists in the collection and creating unique works for this book. 

The book is in of itself a work of art. Much like the collection, the book mirrors the collector’s sensibility — from the design, materials, paper and font choices to the reproductions, this book is a tribute to the artists and works in the collection.

Marguerite spent much of her personal and professional life immersed in the art world, working at the Dallas Museum of Art, then in the art market, while also serving on boards and committees of major nonprofits, including the Dallas Museum of Art and the Harvard Art Museums. I speak with Ms. Hoffman about her passion for art, inspiration behind the collection and its evolution over the years.

Contributors

Martin Jay, Renée Green, Susan L. Aberth, Sarah Celeste Bancroft, Renate Bertlmann, Anna Katherine Brodbeck, Susan Davidson, Gavin Delahunty, TR Ericsson, Tamar Garb, Robert Gober, Rachel Haidu, Merlin James, Wyatt Kahn, Ragnar Kjartansson, Anna Lovatt, Leora Maltz-Leca, Nic Nicosia, Charles Ray, Mark Rosenthal, Dana Schutz, Barry Schwabsky, Richard Shiff, Raphaela Simon, Michelle Stuart, Kirsten Swenson, Mary Weatherford, Terry Winters. Interviews by Martin Jay and Marguerite Steed Hoffman, Gavin Delahunty and Isabelle Graw.

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Reading the Art World episode nine: a conversation with Todd Bradway — curator, editor and artist based in New York City. We discuss his most recent book and exhibition, Landscape Painting Now: From Pop Abstraction to New Romanticism. 

A lot of the painting in my book that is of interest right now: it’s representational, it’s familiar, it’s not realist in the traditional sense. It is varying degrees of abstraction, varying degrees of blowing up the perceptual grid, in a way. It feels radical but yet familiar. It’s got a little element of danger to it… but it’s still “known,” on some level. — Todd Bradway

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

During Bradway’s twenty years working in publishing, he has edited and produced over fifty books. In 2019, Bradway edited the survey Landscape Painting Now, where he explores the metaphorical relationship between painting and landscape. 

I chose this book because it brings attention to landscape painting as an active and vital part of 20th first century art, taking a really global viewpoint of the field over the last 70 years. The book features more than eighty contemporary artists—both established and emerging—from various countries. Organized into six chapters, each representing a recurring theme Bradway identifies in contemporary landscape painting — Realism and Beyond, Post-Pop Landscapes, New Romanticism, Constructed Realities, Abstracted Topographies and Complicated Vistas. 

Last month, I visited Bradway’s insightfully curated exhibition in New York, “Unnatural Nature: Post-Pop Landscapes," which featured 28 contemporary landscape artists. The exhibition is presented concurrently at Acquavella's New York and Palm Beach locations (on view through June 10th). It is also being developed into a large-scale exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art for May 2025. 

Works by Adrian Berg and Nicole Wittenberg on view in Unnatural Nature: Post-Pop Landscapes, on view at Aquavella Gallery, New York, April 21 - June 10, 2022.

Installation view by Kent Pell.

New York Artists

Henni Alftan, Hurvin Anderson, Gideon Appah, Jules de Balincourt, Hayley Barker, Adrian Berg, Jennifer Coates, Ann Craven, Lois Dodd, Maureen Gallace, Sky Glabush, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, Daniel Heidkamp, David Hockney, Yvonne Jacquette, Jon Joanis, Yuka Kashihara, Alex Katz, Makiko Kudo, Patricia Leite, John McAllister, William Monk, Laurie Nye, Nicolas Party, Lisa Sanditz, Wayne Thiebaud, Nicole Wittenberg, and Matthew Wong. 

Palm Beach Artists

Jennifer Coates, Lois Dodd, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, Daniel Heidkamp, Jon Joanis, Yuka Kashihara, Makiko Kudo, Lisa Sanditz, Wayne Thiebaud, and Nicole Wittenberg.

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

In her coverage of the May 2022 contemporary art auctions in New York, arts journalist Barbara Kutcher writing for Germany newspaper Handlesblatt spoke with Megan about the volume of high-value lots being offered and her insights on the potential impact of the financial markets and the war in Ukraine on the art market. Megan commented:

“It is striking: the market for modern and contemporary art seems to have only gotten stronger this season, despite all the fluctuations in the financial markets, inflation in the USA and the war in Ukraine," observed New York art consultant Megan Fox Kelly. “Collectors' appetites have not waned, not only for unprecedented works like the Monets owned by Anne Bass, but also for contemporary art.”

Kutcher’s full coverage of the sales is in Handlesblatt.

Reading the Art World episode eight: a conversation with András Szántó, cultural strategist and widely published author about his recent book, The Future of the Museum: 28 Dialogues. 

This is a fascinating moment. There is more change happening in the field than we’ve seen over decades. Some of it has been very painful, but it has also provided opportunities to empower new voices, integrate new art, change ways of doing things, question sacred cows. And some of that is undoubtedly good. — András Szántó

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple.

Order the book here .

In the wake of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, András Szántó conducted a series of virtual conversations with international museum leaders. At this pivotal moment, the directors spoke candidly about the challenges and untapped potential of art museums.

As a devoted museum goer, I was interested in speaking with András about how our current cultural and political climate will alter the role of museums and how they interact with local communities and a larger global audience. In his latest book, The Future of the Museum: 28 Dialogues, András explores the ways that art institutions are innovating to reengage their audiences.

Through 28 conversations with a mix of global museum directors, he reveals how museums are experimenting with new sources of income, new ways to engage the public, and new ways to run institutions. During this time of reinvention, the traditional functions of the art museum are expanding to become places of gathering, community, education and engagement. 

Museums

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, the High Line, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, MACAAL, Acute Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellín, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Mori Art Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Palais de Lomé, Toledo Museum of Art, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Serpentine Galleries, Brooklyn Museum, MASP, M+ Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, Australian Center for the Moving Image, Pérez Art Museum, National Gallery Singapore & Singapore Art Museum, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire, Musée de la Fondation Zinsou.

Contributors

Marion Ackermann, Cecilia Alemani, Anton Belov, Meriem Berrada, Daniel Birnbaum, Thomas P. Campbell, Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Rhana Devenport, María Mercedes González, Max Hollein, Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Mami Kataoka, Brian Kennedy, Koyo Kouoh, Sonia Lawson, Adam Levine, Victoria Noorthoorn, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Anne Pasternak, Adriano Pedrosa, Suhanya Raffel, Axel Ruger, Katrina Sedgwick, Franklin Sirmans, Eugene Tan, Philip Tinari, Marc-Olivier Wahler, and Marie-Cécile Zinsou.

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Illustrator: Flatbush Brown.

Artnet News’ Spring 2022 edition of the Intelligence Report shares the biggest takeaways from the market’s performance last year—and insider tips on how to get ahead in 2022. Megan Fox Kelly contributes to the report’s ‘Marketplace: The Best Seller List (Photography and Impressionist & Modern)’ categories.

In the Photography category, Ansel Adams’ Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico (1941) fetched $930,000 at Christie’s, surpassing its healthy $700,000 high estimate. When the picture last sold, in 1996, it achieved $36,650, making the latest price “an extraordinary jump for Ansel Adams,” art advisor Megan Fox Kelly said. Years ago, Adams’ work was primarily the domain of photography specialists. But over time, and with the increased reach provided by online viewing and bidding, he’s begun to attract crossover interest. It doesn’t hurt, Fox Kelly noted, that this image is “particularly beautiful.”

In the Impressionist and Modern category, the Artnet News team reports that “Two top-flight collections made the often sleepy Imp-Mod category—defined as work made by artists born between 1821 and 1910—perhaps the hottest of the year […] all told, eight Imp-Mod paintings fetched more than $50 million each.”

The Getty Museum purchased Gustave Caillebotte’s Jeune homme à sa fenêtre (1876), the final lot of the Cox sale, and swiftly put it on public view. Expected to bring above $50 million, the rare and imposing painting of the artist’s brother sold for a premium-inclusive $53 million, shattering the artist’s $22 million record. Some experts said the canvas had notable condition problems, particularly in the black at the center. “There has never been anything like it on the auction market, making it not only a rare opportunity to get such a signature Impressionist painting but also making it one of those difficult-to-estimate lots,” said Megan Fox Kelly.

“People were concerned about how deep the highest end of the market was,” said Megan Fox Kelly. The results proved that demand was there.

Read the full Intelligence Report here.

Reading the Art World episode seven: a conversation with curators Sarah Roberts and Katy Siegel, about Joan Mitchell, published in conjunction with their groundbreaking retrospective exhibition of Mitchell’s work at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple

I think it’s really important that not only is it a life lived with art at the center but it’s art with life at the center. So it’s not about art about art. It’s not meant as an escape from the world. It’s meant to draw the world close and put the most important things about life — nature, love, friendship, dogs, all of that — right at the center of painting.—Katy Siegel on Joan Mitchell

There’s a quote that we put on the wall in the exhibition itself in San Francisco that I chose because it meant something to me. She said: “The solitude that I find in my studio is one of plentitude. I am enough for myself. I live full there.” A lot of artists stop me and tell me how meaningful they found this quote.

—Sarah Roberts on Joan Mitchell

Order the book here .

Reading the Art World is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market, and are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications.

Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations. For more information, visit www.meganfoxkelly.com

To learn more about the Joan Mitchell Foundation, go to www.joanmitchellfoundation.org

Reading the Art World episode six: a conversation with collector and patron Bernard Lumpkin whose collection is the subject of the exhibition and book, Young, Gifted and Black: A New Generation of Artists. (D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers Inc, 2020)

It’s nothing less than a renaissance we are in right now . A renaissance of black contemporary art and it’s amazing, it’s exciting. There’s visibility in places where there was no visibility before. There are resources that didn’t exist before; there are opportunities to see the work of black artists and to engage with those artists. There are platforms now which help the conversation around black art … and I love the democratic spirit of that — Bernard Lumpkin

Listen to this podcast on Spotify and Apple

Order the book here .

Young, Gifted and Black celebrates the art of a dynamic new generation of black artists whose works are part of the prestigious collection of Bernard I. Lumpkin and Carmine D. Boccuzzi, longtime champions of emerging artists of African descent. In this podcast Bernard tells the story of his evolution to collector, patron and advocate and how the exhibition of the collection and accompanying book furthers his own mission or broader education about black contemporary art. His decisions around the structure, texts and contributors to the book are a reflection of the way in which he and Carmine engage with their roles as collectors

Edited by Antwaun Sargent, the richly illustrated book features over 100 artworks—including painting, photography, sculpture and performance. With texts by curators, scholars and the artists themselves offering diverse perspectives, Young, Gifted, and Black speaks broadly to notions of community and identity that, while rooted in the specific experience of blackness, capture how these artists are shaping the ways we think about representation, race and the history of art.

Artists

Mark Bradford, David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Adam Pendleton, Pope.L, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Henry Taylor, Mickalene Thomas, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sadie Barnette, Kevin Beasley, Jordan Casteel, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Bethany Collins, Noah Davis, Cy Gavin, Allison Janae Hamilton, Tomashi Jackson, Samuel Levi Jones, Deana Lawson, Eric N. Mack, Arcmanoro Niles, Jennifer Packer, Christina Quarles, Jacolby Satterwhite, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Sable Elyse Smith, Chanel Thomas, Stacy Lynn Waddell, D’Angelo Lovell Williams, Brenna Youngblood, and more.

Contributors

Antwaun Sargent, Graham C. Boettcher, Jessica Bell Brown, Connie H. Choi, Anthony Graham, Lauren Haynes, Jamillah James, Thomas J. Lax, Hallie Ringle, Adeze Wilford, Gordon Dearborn Wilkins, and Matt Wycoff, plus an interview with Bernard Lumpkin by Thelma Golden.

Learn more about Reading the Art World here.

Great art books have always helped me to better engage with art, delivering a broader and deeper reading on a topic than I can get from the headlines. 

My love of books has led me to launch a new podcast series this year: “Reading the Art World with Megan Fox Kelly.” In each episode I highlight a new or influential author with a special spotlight on new books on art, design, artists, museums and the art market. You can find the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or your favorite podcast platform.

As the year comes to an end, I’ve put together a list of my twelve favorite art books this year that we hope will be favorites of those on your holiday gift list – and don’t forget to put yourself on that list as well!

1. Joan Mitchell. by Sarah Roberts and Katy Siegel; with contributions by Paul Auster, Gisele Barreau, Eric de Chassey, Jennifer Hickey and David Reed, Eileen Myles, Richard Shiff, Joyce Pensato, Jenni Quilter, et al.

Joan Mitchell  documents the long-awaited retrospective exhibition which opened at the Baltimore Museum of Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art this year, and will travel next year to Paris at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Lavishly illustrated and with in-depth essays and new research, the book reveals how Mitchell drew inspiration from both her life in France, as well as her love of poetry and music to move her painting beyond Abstract Expressionism. The book tells the story of her evolution from her exceptional New York paintings of the early 1950s to her monumental later works.

Yale University Press, January 5, 2021

Available for purchase here or here

2. The Soul of a Nation Reader: Writings by and about Black American Artists, 1960 - 1980. Edited with text by Mark Godfrey, Allie Biswas. Afterword by Zoé Whitley.

Written to follow the groundbreaking 2019 exhibition, Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, organized by the Tate Modern, London which then traveled to the Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, and the Broad Museum, Los Angeles, this “reader” presents writings by over 200 scholars, artists, critics, and curators between 1960 and 1980 by and about Black American artists. This compendium of writings celebrates the important contributions by Black artists to the art and culture of their time.

Exhibition curator Mark Godfrey and writer and editor Allie Biswas researched and edited the extensive writings which include rare and out-of-print texts from artists and writers, as well as texts never before published.

Gregory R. Miller & Co., June 1, 2021

Available for purchase here.

3. Spring Cannot be Cancelled: David Hockney in Normandy, by Martin Gayford and David Hockney

An insightful conversation between long-time friends David Hockney and critic and author Martin Gaylord on art's enduring ability to inspire.  Prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, Hockney had set up a studio in an old farmhouse in Normandy where he intended to paint the arrival of spring. The forced isolation of 2020 ended up providing him even more time to devote to his art, and this book celebrates that time, the work he produced, and the insights he gained about his art. 

Their conversations are beautifully illustrated by drawings and paintings Hockney created in this Normandy studio alongside works by van Gogh, Monet, Bruegel, and others. 

Thames & Hudson, May 25, 2021

Available for purchase here.

4.The Sleeve Should be Illegal: & Other Reflections on Art at the Frick, edited by Michaelyn Mitchell with a foreword by Adam Gopnik

The Frick Collection’s recent move from the lush domestic home of Henry Clay Frick on 5th Avenue to the Brutalist architecture of Marcel Breuer on Madison Avenue created the perfect opportunity to reexamine the collection through a new lens. The Sleeve Should be Illegal is a collection of writings by 62 artists, authors, and cultural figures, focusing on a single work of art at the Frick and how that work has moved, challenged, puzzled, or inspired them.  Contributors include André Aciman, Rosanne Cash,  Roz Chast, George Condo, Teresita Fernández, Carolina Herrera, Abbi Jacobson, Bill T. Jones, Maira Kalman, Julie Mehretu, Catherine Opie, Diana Rigg, Simon Schama, Colm Tóibín, and Chris Ware. These new perspectives are a testament to the timelessness and power of art, and a celebration of this storied New York collection.

Delmonico Books/The Frick Collection, January 26, 2021

Available for purchase here.

5. For Art's Sake: Inside the Homes of Art Dealers, by Tiqui Atencio Demirdjian

A glimpse inside the private residences of some of the most important art dealers working today. For Art’s Sake offers an inside look at how art dealers who are in the business of art collect and live with art in their homes. As a collector herself, Tiqui's writing creates portraits of these collector-dealers and reveals a truly personal side of an often quite private group of individuals. 

Their extraordinary collections are set against the  considered architecture and interior design, all beautifully captured by photographer Jean-François Jaussaud. For more insight into this book, listen to my interview with Tiqui here. 

Rizzoli, October 6, 2020

Available for purchase here.

6. Cecily Brown, by Courtney J. Martin, Jason Rosenfeld, Francine Prose

British-born, New York-based artist Cecily Brown rose to prominence in the late 1990s and her consistently innovative paintings have made her one of the leading artists of her generation. Originally influenced by Abstract Expressionism, Brown has developed her unique voice, which investigates the sensual qualities of oil paint through a process inspired both by abstraction and realism. This is the first and highly anticipated monograph on one of the most influential painters in Contemporary art.

Phaidon Press, November 18, 2020 

Available for purchase here.

7. Rothko Chapel: An Oasis for Reflection, by Pamela Smart and Stephen Fox, foreword by Christopher Rothko, introduction by David Leslie

Published in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, home to 14 monumental paintings by Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko. The works were commissioned by philanthropists Dominique and John de Menil who founded the Chapel as an interfaith sacred space dedicated to global human rights, art, and spirituality.  

Through photographic testimony and the insights of scholars, the book gives an intimate look at what is arguably Rothko’s magnum opus, where visitors seek solace and inspiration within this truly ecumenical sanctuary featuring his iconic paintings. 

Rizzoli, March 9, 2021

Available for purchase here.

8. Jasper Johns: Mind/Mirror, by Carlos Basualdo and Scott Rothkopf

Published on the occasion of this year’s dual retrospective at the Whitney Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art, this book presents a series of essays on  the work of one of America’s most iconic artists. “Mind/Mirror” refers to the concepts of mirroring and doubling which are the organizing principles of the twin exhibitions.

Arguably the most important American artist living today, Johns has produced a body of work which continues to change the way we see and think about art. His art and the ideas behind it are not readily apparent—there is always more that lies beneath the surface and the appearance of the works. But delving deeper into Johns’ creative process and understanding the recurring motifs that thread through his work always rewards the reader with a deeper engagement with the works themselves.

A diverse group of curators, academics, artists, and writers offer a series of essays—including many paired texts—that consider aspects of the artist’s work, such as recurring motifs, explorations of place, and the use of a wide array of media. These include Carroll Dunham on nightmares, Ruth Fine on monotypes and working proofs, Michio Hayashi on Japan, Terrance Hayes on flags, and Colm Toíbín on dreams, among many others. 

Whitney Museum of America Art, September 28, 2021

Available for purchase here

9. Art market insights for collectors and professionals: a suite of three books written by market experts and published by Lund-Humphries:

The Rise and Rise of the Private Art Museum by Georgina Adam

This latest book by art journalist Georgina Adam offers an inside look at the remarkable proliferation of private museums that has emerged globally over the last 20 years.

As an advisor to collectors and in my work with clients on legacy planning for their art collections, I was interested to learn about the motivations driving collector’s decisions—and  to see how these private museums are impacting traditional support of public museums.  Why are collectors opting to build their own museums to share their collections with the public rather than in partnership with existing museums?  And what does this mean for the future?

Georgina’s investigation, based on her recent visits to over 50 private spaces across the US, Europe, China and elsewhere, delves into the reasons behind this boom, and the different motivations of collectors.  

At a time of unprecedented levels of contemporary art collecting globally, and with museums facing a near crisis of challenges to their missions, leadership, and financial stability, I found Georgina’s book to be an informative and truly thought-provoking read for these times.  

For more insight, listen to my interview with Georgina here.

Lund Humphries, September 30, 2021

Available for purchase here.

The Art Fair Story: A Rollercoaster Ride by Melanie Gerlis

In just half a century of growth, the art fair industry has transformed the art market. Now, for the first time, art market journalist Melanie Gerlis tells the story of the rapid ascent of the art fair and reflects on their uncertain future. From the first post-war European art fairs built on the imperial 19th-century model of the international exhibitions, to the global art fairs of the 21st century and their new online manifestations, it's a tale of many twists and turns.

The book brings to life the people, places and philosophies that enabled art fairs to take root, examines the pivotal market periods when they flourished, and maps where they might go in a much-changed world. For more insight, listen to my interview with Melanie Gerlis recorded during Art Basel Miami Beach here. 

Lund Humphries, December 1, 2021
Available for purchase here.

The Art Collector’s Handbook: The Definitive Guide to Acquiring and Owning Art by Mary Rozell

In this second edition of The Art Collector’s Handbook, fully revised since its first publication in 2014, Mary Rozell addresses the many changes which have taken place in the art market, in art law, and in the practice of collecting. 

This book  has become a reference guide for me for best practices in working with collector clients. With guidance on everything from invoice clauses and taxes to insurance, storage, collection management, the care and conservation of fine art, and art financing, this book is an essential guide to the exciting business of collecting art.

A fellow member of the Association of Professional Art Advisors (APAA), Mary Rozell combines her experience as both an art lawyer and art advisor to explain some of the myriad issues that arise when owning an art collection—how to care for it now and plan for the future.

For more insight, listen to my interview with Mary here.

Lund Humphries, September 3, 2020

Available for purchase here.

10. Fierce Poise: Helen Frankenthaler and 1950s New York , by Alexander Nemerov

In this insightful portrait of the artist, Alexander Nemerov focuses on the defining moments of Helen Frankenthaler’s early career in the 1950s. Nemerov provides not only poetic descriptions of her dream-like abstract artworks, but an accounting of steps the artist took to achieve success, from her privileged beginnings to the relationships she formed and nurtured. Readers are presented with an unvarnished picture of a talented and determined woman who, by the end of the decade, had firmly established herself not only on the New York art scene, but as an important American artist of the postwar period. 

Penguin Press, March 23, 2021 

Available for purchase here.

11. The Medici: Portraits and Politics, 1512-1570  by Keith Christiansen and Carlo Falciani

The Medici family ruled Florence between 1434 and 1494 and made a triumphant return to the city in 1512 with Cosimo I de’ Medici at its helm. Art lover, patron, and political craftsman, Cosimo’s ability to use art and portraiture as an instrument for communicating power and prestige was unprecedented. Through his rule and patronage, Florence was transformed into a duchy ruled by the Medici and became the center of art and culture, with artists such as Agnolo Bronzino and Benvenuto Cellini achieving fame for their distinct painting and sculptural styles that conveyed the character, intellect, and social standing of their sitters. This beautifully illustrated catalogue was published in conjunction with the 2021 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 22, 2021

Available for purchase here.

12. Francis Bacon: Revelations, by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan

In this new biography of the elusive Francis Bacon, authors Stevens and Swan bring together a decade of new research and extensive interviews to create a complete portrait of the artist. Earlier biographies and accounts of Bacon’s life have addressed his childhood in Ireland and the loneliness, isolation, and parental judgement he experienced; his ears design career in London; his openly gay lifestyle in decidedly unsympathetic culture; his early failures as an artist and the formation of his artistic vision.

Francis Bacon: Revelations is a comprehensive account of the experiences that informed his life and his art, and in its over 900 pages, it debunks many of the myths that have prevailed around him.

Unique to this book—a feature that is particularly compelling—are the examinations at the close of each chapter of a single painting. Insightful, in-depth, and separate from the narrative of his life, these focused readings on individual works remind us of the genius of Bacon and the body of work he left behind.

March 23, 2021

Available for purchase here.