Rogues’ Gallery

An interesting book about Art dealing, Antiquity and History. Philip Hook shares his knowledge and the unique perspective he gained over the years as a very well-versed art director and art dealer. This is a book filled with highly detailed stories and so much expertise.

But be aware of the fact that as a reader you need to display an impressive level of erudition as well, in order to follow sufficiently this work and of course a certain level of artistical interest otherwise the reading process will turn into a very tedious experience.

So, delve into this story about crooked art dealers that lack a moral compass, families who turn against their own only to gain money, people who will try to earn status quo through buying paintings by the dozen and museum curators that will do anything about a good exhibit. Enjoy!!!! I know I did, immensely.


THOUGHTS ABOUT THE BOOK

- Wide historical range.
- Many anecdote stories, for example, there is one evolving J.P. Morgan. Also, The Art of Shopping is a very prominent chapter about art dealings in the USA.
- I loved the Wildenstein Dynasty chapter.

Philip Hook has written a book that could easily be used in university-level Art History classes and probably should be. <i>Rogues' Gallery</i> highlights the vital importance, and occasional really dirty dealing, of art dealers ranging from the Renaissance to Contemporary era of European and American art. Without dealers, artists would often have been unable to sell their works and one need only look at the number of known artists who died in abject poverty to see that even a dealer selling at exorbitant markup was still putting money in an artist's hands that otherwise mightn't have gotten there.

Hook details the lives and business strategies of dealers such as the legendary Durand-Ruel, whose promotion of the successful Barbizon School painters and the edgy Impressionists drove the success of these painters, in spite of heavy criticism of the latter in the more formal Paris Salon of the 1860's. By keeping the work of the great Impressionists on display to the more open-minded British and American art buying public in London and New York, he allowed painters now lauded, like Monet, Renoir and Manet, to survive and later thrive. Likewise, the role of Kahnweiler in promoting Cubism and artists like Picasso and Braque cannot be overstated. Featuring dealers as diverse as the "thrillingly dishonest" Duveen and "gallerist" Castelli, Hook gives us an insiders perspective on making and selling art. For anyone well-versed in Art History, The Rogues' Gallery (still not sure I agree with that title in full) presents a fascinating look at a side of the art world that is little seen. Add to this the fascinating role of famous collector/dealers such as the rather scandalous Peggy Guggenheim, and all in all you have quite the appealing read if you're a lover of Western art.

Rogue’s Gallery is a history book about art dealers. Now, this is history and the author does use a lot of facts, but we must remember that this is someone’s point of view on art dealers’ history. Once we have made this point clear, I must say that Rogue’s Gallery is clearly targeting a certain audience and not necessarily artists. However, art teachers, historians, and owners of art galleries will find it interesting and even a rich reference resource. This is a non-fiction read so readers must not expect a lot of pictures, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book has a good number of images and photographs in both color and black and white. It also has a very complete bibliography and an index which are of great help to researchers but many times publishers overlook, so I was glad to see that in this book. The book is about 304 pages and I welcome that as I personally do not like very long non-fiction books. For those who would like to treat this book as a reference resource I want to share that the book is divided into four major parts: Renaissance and Enlightenment, the Nineteenth Century, Modern Times, and Into the Contemporary World. This book is not the authority on the history of art dealers, but it is a very complete resource that may offer users a great deal of room for exploration and discovery.

Informative, extremely interesting and eminently readable, Philip Hook’s exploration of art dealing and art dealers is a real delight. Narrated in a lively and accessible style, with flashes of Hook’s dry wit, the book is a thoroughly well-researched and endlessly fascinating account of the art world and the art market through the ages.

Readers who wish to know more about the world of art dealing may want to pick up this title. Hook examines the world of art dealing over the last few centuries, highlighting key art dealers and their partnerships with the biggest named artists of their time. Hook examines how art dealers themselves did or did not influence artists’ works, as well as the influence art dealers had with clients and art appreciation as a whole.

This is not a narrative nonfiction but ideal for those interested in the art world. I learned much about the intricacies involved between artist, art dealer and/or auctioneer and art patron/art buyer. Some of the dealers highlighted led colorful lives; it was their deep appreciation in art, or in a few cases the almighty dollar, that led new art movements to become popular among buyers and collectors. I appreciated the research Hook did in order to create a very comprehensive look at western world art buying, with chapters featuring the United States, European countries and England.

This is a perfect book for anyone studying art history or who may even have an interest in working in a gallery, museum or even becoming an art dealer. Recommended.

Review posted simultaneously on Goodreads, LibraryThing and Litsy at links provided to NetGalley.

I am not typically a lover of non-fiction, and while I appreciate art I do not do a lot of reading geared towards it. However, Hook was able to draw me in with this intriguing, sometimes humorous and always fascinating look into the world of art dealing. This book gives a behind the scenes look into art dealing and would certainly be good for those who would like to use it for reference as well as those who are interested in the good, the bad and the ugly of the art world. I found this book to provide a thorough account of the relationships between the players in the dealer/collection process while still being simple enough for those of us not in the field to understand. Overall, I applaud Hook for taking a topic I had little knowledge about and making it interesting enough to keep me turning pages.