Portrait of the Young Man as an Art Dealer: New York in the Sixties

This memoir from the influential art dealer and author offers an up close and personal perspective on New York’s vibrant art scene of the sixties and seventies.

One of today’s most respected art dealers, Michael Findlay launched his career surrounded by the most exciting figures of the late twentieth century art scene. His generously illustrated memoir traces his childhood in Scotland to his arrival in New York, where he directed one of the first art galleries in SoHo, exposing American audiences to the likes of Joseph Beuys and Sean Scully. Findlay launched the first solo exhibitions of John Baldessari, Hannah Wilke, Stephen Mueller and Billy Sullivan. He offers fascinating recollections about his relationships with painters and sculptors, art dealers and art collectors, actors, models and the creative talents at the heart of New York’s Downtown scene.
Making appearances in Findlay’s stellar cast of characters are Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ray Johnson, Gerald Laing, Joseph Cornell, Alan Ginsberg, model Naomi Sims, and the poet Gerard Malanga. He vividly depicts comings and goings at The Chelsea Hotel, St. Mark’s Place, Studio 54 and Max’s Kansas City. He describes in candid detail the pros and cons of the wild parties and the freewheeling lifestyle of that swinging era. Anyone interested in twentieth century cultural history, the post- World War II art market, or sixties and seventies New York will be gripped and entertained by Findlay’s evocatively recounted journey.

Michael Findlay is a director of Acquavella Galleries in New York. His career began in 1964, when he became a pioneer of SoHo’s legendary gallery scene, presenting the first solo exhibitions of many then unknown artists who went on to become household names. He is the author of The Value of Art and Seeing Slowly (both published by Prestel).