Michael Findlay (art expert)

Michael Alistair Findlay (born 1945) is an art dealer and author residing in New York City. Findlay is a Director of Acquavella Galleries,[1] which specializes in Impressionist and Modern European works of art as well as Post-War American painting and sculpture. Findlay is also the author of two books, The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty (2012) and Seeing Slowly: Looking at Modern Art (2017).

Childhood

Michael Findlay was born in Dunoon, Scotland. He was educated at St. George's College, Weybridge, England and York University, Toronto. Michael has lived in New York City since 1964.[2]

Early career (1964-1984)

As a Director of Richard Feigen Gallery from 1964 - 1970, Findlay ran Feigen Downtown, one of the first galleries to open in SoHo. In 1970 he established his own SoHo gallery, J.H. Duffy and Sons Ltd., which he ran until 1977. He was the first dealer in the United States to exhibit the work of Sean Scully and Joseph Beuys. He gave American artists Hannah Wilke, John Baldessari, Stephen Mueller and Billy Sullivan their first solo exhibitions in New York.[2] He also represented Abstract Expressionist Ray Parker.

During this time Findlay also bought and sold Impressionist and Twentieth century works of art on behalf of American and European private collectors. He also secured early portrait commissions of Dennis Hopper and others for Andy Warhol.

Christie's (1984-2000)

Findlay joined Christie's auction house in 1984 and was the Head of the Impressionist and Modern Art Department until 1992.[3] From 1992 until 2000 he was the International Director of Fine Arts and a member of Christie's Board of Directors. During his tenure at Christie's he was instrumental in the sale of various important collections, including Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Victor and Sally Ganz and Hal B. Wallis. In 1990 he supervised the sale of Dr. Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh for $82,500,000, which at the time was the highest price paid for a work of art at auction.[4]

Findlay opened the Christie's office in Shanghai in 1994 with an exhibition of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary masterpieces. In 1995 he was part of a small team that advised the new Shanghai Museum in the creation of a Western art program.

Findlay retired from Christie's in 2000.[5]

Personal Life

Findlay married African American model Naomi Sims in 1973. Sims was the first black model to grace the cover of a mainstream American women's magazine, Ladies Home Journal. [6]

Published works

Findlay has published essays and art criticism in magazines and exhibition catalogues and has been writing and publishing poetry since the 1960s when he read in venues like The Judson Church and The Metro Café with Ann Waldman, Gerard Malanga, Barbara Holland and others. He studied poetry with Jean Valentine, June Jordan and Kenneth Koch and his work appears in poetry magazines most recently Lalitamba and Cloudbank 11.

He is a contributing author of “The Expert versus The Object: Judging Fakes and False Attributions in the Visual Arts” edited by Ronald Spencer and published by Oxford University Press in 2004. His book, “The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty”, was published by Prestel in 2012,[7][8][9] and has been translated into German, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. His second book, “Seeing Slowly: Looking At Modern Art” was published in August of 2017.

References

1. Spencer, R.D. (2004). The Expert Versus the Object: Judging Fakes and False Attributions in the Visual Arts. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-19-514735-3. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
2. "Michael Findlay's 'Value of Art' Tells Tales, Just Wants People to Like Art". Observer. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
3. "Michael Findlay: A Collector, For Love And Money". The East Hampton Star. August 28, 1997. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
4. MUCHNIC, SUZANNE (1990-05-16). "Van Gogh Painting Sells at Record $82.5 Million : Art: 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet' is auctioned to a Japanese gallery. The previous high price was $53.9 million". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
5. Peers, Alexandra (2000-05-25). "Findlay Resigns From Christie's Post To Take Director Position at Gallery". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
6. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/magazine/27Sims-t.html
7. Peers, Alexandra (May 30, 2012). "Commerce and Collecting". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 5, 2017.(subscription required)
8. Lindemann, Adam (December 4, 2013). "12 Books on the Ins and Outs of Collecting Contemporary Art". HuffPost. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
9. "The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty | artnet News". artnet News. 2012-11-01. Retrieved 2017-07-12.

Further reading

• "The art world, now and then: Michael Findlay discusses his new book". New York Daily News.
• "What every art collector should know: Renowned art dealer Michael Findlay shares his secrets at Menil". CultureMap Houston. November 4, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2017.