In this issue you will find:

1. Party Pics: BvB Calendar Release Party

2. UPCOMING EVENTS

Kurmangazy Kazakh National Conservatory, Fri, Nov. 20
Blondes versus Brunettes Showdown, Sat., Nov. 14
Conversation with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Tues., Nov. 10

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A great picture exerts a force on your psyche," writes art dealer and collector Richard Polsky, "It penetrates every pore of your skin and stays with you like a tattoo." Polsky understands this, having exhibited some of the great artists of our time. Yet, he has witnessed the demise of a culture that went from art appreciation to monetary appreciation. Or, as Polsky describes it, "the art world" became "the art market."

In 1987, Richard Polsky put aside $100,000 to buy an Andy Warhol painting. His 2003 memoir I Bought Andy Warhol chronicled his twelve-year search to acquire the painting of his dreams, while taking the reader on a guided tour of the contemporary art market. It was widely praised as "[an] informed, instructive, fun read ..." (Houston Chronicle), "lively" (Washington Post), and "a wry, smart, intimate journey" (Susan Orlean, The Orchid Thief).

Now, Polsky brings us I SOLD ANDY WARHOL (too soon) (September 15, 2009; Other Press; $23.95), the story of what happened when he reluctantly sold his hard-won "Fright Wig" painting. Only two years after selling it for what seemed like a substantial profit, he watched in growing disbelief as his Warhol quadrupled in value, while the art market soared to unprecedented heights.

But when the author attempts to reinvest his profits, he finds himself caught up in a conundrum: how do you buy a painting in a market that's galloped beyond your means?

I SOLD ANDY WARHOL (too soon) is a thrilling ride through the duplicitous maze of buying and selling contemporary art. Polsky dispels the public's perception of the art world as being elitist and exposes its penchant for juvenile behavior, only half-kiddingly portraying the business as "high school with money."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Richard Polsky is the author of I Bought Andy Warhol and The Art Market Guide (1995-1997). He began his professional career in the art world thirty-one years go and in 1984 founded Acme Art, where he showed the work of such artists as Joseph Cornell, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, and Bill Traylor. Since 1989 he has been a private dealer specializing in works by postwar artists, with an emphasis on Pop Art. He is currently a contributor to artnet Magazine online and lives in Sausalito, California.