Member Reviews

Born in Scotland in 1945 and still involved in the art world, Michael Findlay has many stories to tell. In this book he chronicles the New York art scene in the 1960s, where his ascent was rapid and where he directed one of the first galleries in SoHo and then later ran his own gallery. His successful career continues. When he first arrived in New York he started working for dealer Richard Feigen and through him met just about everyone one involved in the art world, from household names to more obscure artists, whom I enjoyed discovering. There are many illustrations to accompany the text. The heady days of the 1960s in New York are brought vividly to life, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about his exciting and eventful life. This isn’t a particularly revealing memoir, and I never felt that I was really getting to know the man behind the career, but nevertheless I found it a compelling and endlessly fascinating read, even when some sections amounted to little more than name dropping. But what names they are – and I would love to learn more about Findlay’s career and adventures in other decades. A great read.

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An intriguing memoir by art dealer Michael Findlay. The memoir begins by weaving together some key early visual culture references that will later influence Findlay's taste. Like Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, from which this book presumably takes quite a bit of inspiration, this young man's first experiences with art are governed by issues of access and mediated--at least at first--by stern Catholic schoolmasters. Still Findlay begins to collect visual references--both high and low--that start to illuminate his taste.

In college, a key opportunity to curate works from local collectors put Findlay in touch with some of Toronto's private collections: "...it was the first time I set foot in an art-filled home and my first encounter with works by young artists....It dawned on me that art had an existence outside museums."

Leaving college 2 years early found him in New York in 1964, which "allowed [him] to be present at a cultural inflexion [sic] point that is still evident in the arts today." Once in New York, the memoir is packed with coincidental connections to some of the art world's most iconic personalities. While piecing together moments of the art dealer's memories, the book begins to paint a larger picture of the "art scene" at the time.

The book is chock-full of (sometimes quite fleeting) references to artists, poets, critics, galleries, exhibitions, and local spots that are important touchstones in the history of art. Readers fluent in this era's history will find it an exciting to get a glimpse of these early encounters with icons before they were famous.

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Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It was not my thing I haven’t realised how focused the book will be on the set period and expected more of behind the scenes art world that what we have gotten. I do believe if one is familiar and lives 60s and 70s then they will enjoy the book greatly but for me it was more on a boring side. I don’t think I quite fit with the target audience so the blame is mostly on me. But I should say that the writing style was pleasant.

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3.5 stars. The book is about the author's life, starting from how he got interested in art in his early years, ended up working for an art gallery, and then became an art dealer himself. If you are familiar with the New York art scene of the 60s and 70s, you will get more out of this book than if you don't. I've only recently started to learn more than just the two or three names from that era, and it was interesting to come across others I recognized and also learn about even more artists that I could look up to see more about the work. While it focuses on the art world, it also talks a little about the New York of the times, and of the place that it used to be.

There are some fun incidents recounted in the book about the author's life too that I found fascinating to read that left me wanting to know more. I wanted to like it more, but it felt like an overabundance of people mentioned and didn't slow down enough to focus on a few moments. Michael Findlay has certainly lived a very eventful life and I certainly know a little more about what art dealers do after reading his memoir.

If you love New York or the artists of the time, this makes for a great insider's look at what was going on at the time in artist circles. If you're unfamiliar though, you will have to look up things alongside reading the book.

Thank you Smith Publicity | Prestel and Michael Findlay for providing a free eARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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I thought the book would detail more of the art that this dealer had encountered in New York, specifically Soho, in the 1960's. It read more like a diary listing "this is what I did today, this is who I saw". Much more development and story line was needed in my opinion.

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