Boom


Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art

A behind-the-scenes look at the egomaniacs, geniuses, and canny promoters who shaped the world of modern art and created the largest unregulated financial market in the world.

by Michael Shnayerson

Before Damien Hirst stuffed a shark, before Basquiat picked up a spray can, before Andy Warhol started The Factory, a pile of unwanted Jackson Pollocks changed everything. From them emerged the first major modern art dealer. It was 1947, and the art world would never be the same.