13 ART DEALERS SHARE THE BOOKS THAT HELPED THEM NAVIGATE THE ART WORLD

Alina Cohen

Anna Valdez

Hashimoto Contemporary

Most of us suddenly have lots of reading time on our hands. As museums, galleries, and auction houses close shop in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person art viewing goes on hiatus. This is a spiritual and financial hit for many of us whose lives revolve around the social and physical spaces of the art world. The paintings, sculptures, and performances that move us will no longer be at arms’ reach.

When I started working on this article a few weeks ago, I simply wanted to hear dealers recommend books that helped them navigate the art world. Yet when their answers began pouring in, I was surprised at the diversity of their picks (some dealers offered additional recommendations, included below). To navigate the art world, their selections suggest, one must have an imagination cultivated by fiction, a sense of romance about the business, and a keen curiosity about underlying social structures—and, apparently, an ability to broadly interpret a pretty straightforward prompt. As the news media bombards us with frightening updates at lightning speed, it’s as good a time as ever to find solace in language and storytelling of a very different kind………..

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