Outline - McKenzie Sullivan

For my final presentation I would like to explore the topic of the Art Dealer as a cultural power. I am very interested in how integral dealers are to the art market. They are the liaison between buyers and sellers, an essential part of what makes the art market go round. Dealers recruit artists to join their gallery or accumulate a distinctive supply of works from the secondary market. In this, they support artists and the legacy of the objects they sell. They also fulfill the desires of collectors by helping them select appropriate pieces. Galleries often differentiate themselves from their rivals in terms of their supply and the type of people that collect from them.

In my final presentation I will focus specifically on answering the question: Can art dealers influence tastes in the contemporary art market? and is their influence unwarranted. 

I will use the examples of Paul Durand-Ruel, Gagosian, PaceWildenstien and the Duveen Brothers to show how dealers have shaped the aesthetic tastes of their clients by virtue of what they offered for sale and how they promoted it. I will show how dealers can establish a cultural legacy. Gagosian and PaceWildenstein clarify how the dealer is evolving to command power in the contemporary market.

Outline

1.       The traditional dealer vs. “hotshot” contemporary dealer
2.       The importance of Branding
   1. 1.  The Duveens vs. Gagosian vs. PaceWildenstein--how they branded themselves in relation to their stock and were particular about what they carried
      2.  Distinct identity- how to differentiate between other dealers
      3.  Galleries strive to separate their goods from those of other dealers and brand them distinctively so they can charge a premium
      4.  Even if they brand their gallery effectively, they face competition from other gallerists who can offer different, but still excellent works
3.       Dealer vs. Auction House
   1. 1.  Responsibility vs. no responsibility to artists
      2.  Pricing
      3.  Lure of auction house
4.      Conspicuous Consumption
   1. 1.  Dealers promote the act of “collecting” as being peculiarly prestigious- make wealthy collectors believe that they are part of something inexplicably important
      2.  Dealers play upon a natural human predilection for conspicuous consumption
      3.  Using Thorstein Veblen, book on Conspicuous Consumption, I will show how dealers recognize an individuals strive for success relative to members of their social circle and how they capitalize on this
5.      Parties, Parties, Parties
   1. 1.  How dealers make the gallery integral to their clients social lives 
      2.  Joseph Duveen provided his clients with introductions to British nobility vs. Gagosian and PaceWildenstein host huge events
      3.  Hobby of collecting art extends to the participation in the social-scene surrounding it
      4.  To be listed amongst Gagosian’s a-list clients is something socially conscious collectors strive for
6.      Geographical Location
   1. 1.  Gagosian and PaceWildenstein have expanded globally to take advantage of new markets
      2.  Gagosian operates several galleries worldwide
      3.  Dealers attend major international art fairs, including Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach and have promoted their brand at these venues
7.      Influence upon market patterns and taste
   1. 1.  Dealers play an important role in the art market introducing trends and aesthetic predilections
      2.  Dealers with an impressive brand and a stable group of artists can even become so predominant that they steer market trends
      3.  How the Duveen’s and Durand-Ruel’s influenced taste vs. how contemporary dealers do
8.      Conclusion/Summary
   1. 1.  Dealers are market makers as they match artists with collectors. These dealers promote certain ideas about the art and even form a gallery brand in order to sell the art.
      2.  The dealers are essential in the cycle for discovering and promoting artists and in so doing they influence popular culture.

List of works thus far

Fowles, Edward. Memories of the Duveen Brothers. London: Times Books, 1976. Print.

PaceWildenstein.  <http://www.pacewildenstein.com/>

Lindemann, Adam. Collecting Contemporary. London: Taschen, 2006. Print.

Veblen, Thorstein. The Theory of The Leisure Class. “Conspicious Consumption.” New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Penguin, 1994. Print.

The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough exhibited at the galleries of Messrs. Duveen Brothers, New York. New York: Duveen Brothers, 1922. Print.

"New or secondhand?" The Economist 26 Nov. 2009. The Economist. Web. <http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14941173>.