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Donald N. Thompson
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The Supermodel and the Brillo Box: Back Stories and Peculiar Economics from the World of Contemporary Art Kindle Edition

by Don Thompson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 136 ratings
Acquiring contemporary art is about passion and lust, but it is also about branding, about the back story that comes with the art, about the relationship of money and status, and, sometimes, about celebrity. The Supermodel and the Brillo Box follows Don Thompson's 2008 bestseller The $12 Million Stuffed Shark and offers a further journey of discovery into what the Crash of 2008 did to the art market and the changing methods that the major auction houses and dealerships have implemented since then. It describes what happened to that market after the economic implosion following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and offers insights and art-world tales from dealers, auction houses, and former executives of each, from New York and London to Abu Dhabi and Beijing. It begins with the story of a wax, trophy-style, nude upper-body sculpture of supermodel Stephanie Seymour by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, which sold for $2.4 million to New York über-collector and private dealer Jose Mugrabi, and recounts the story of a wooden Brillo box that sold for $722,500. The Supermodel and the Brillo Box looks at the increasing dominance of Christie's, Sotheby's, and a few über dealers; the hundreds of millions of new museums coming up in cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Beijing; the growing importance of the digital art world; and the shrinking role of the mainstream gallery.
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  4. Publication date
    May 27, 2014
  5. File size
    3.0 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bringing an economist's curiosity to the inner workings of the contemporary art market, Don Thompson manages once again to explain, in laymen's terms, how a lot of it works.” ―Sarah Douglas, Culture Editor, The New York Observer

“Don delivers entertaining and thoughtful insights into the inner workings of the art business, and does so in style! Check for Don's pointers on how to play the quiz of the contemporary art market. Very rewarding reading.” ―Sergey Skaterschikov, Founder, Skate's Art Market Research

“A highly readable account of the booming market for contemporary art, post 2008. Art economist Don Thompson lays bare the world of high-octane auctions, canny collectors, culture-hungry new economies and opaque million-dollar art deals.” ―Georgina Adam, art market columnist, The Financial Times, London

“I started reading The Supermodel and the Brillo Box and could not put it down until I finished it! Interesting to read about a world one knows well looked at through a different perspective. For anyone who wants to learn about the art market is a must read.” ―Pilar Ordovas, Ordovas gallery, London, and former deputy chairman for Postwar and Contemporary art, Christie's Europe

About the Author

Don Thompson is an economist and Emeritus Nabisco Brands Professor of Marketing and Strategy at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto. He has taught at Harvard Business School and the London School of Economics, and is the author of 11 books. He writes on the economics of the art market for publications as diverse as The Times (London), Harper's Magazine, and The Art Economist. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00JTIZW5M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (May 27, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 27, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3.0 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 136 ratings

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Donald N. Thompson

Donald N. Thompson

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
136 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book to be a worthwhile read that is quite enlightening and knowledgeable about the contemporary art world. They appreciate the writing quality, with one customer noting it's very easy to read, and another highlighting the amazing sums of money involved in the art industry.

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11 customers mention "Readability"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a worthwhile read, with one describing it as an interesting light read.

"...additional detail and new explorations make for an insightful and worthwhile read. Good blend of economics and social study...." Read more

"Met the author at an ASA conference, very knowledgeable and entertaining!" Read more

"This is an interesting light read for people who already know about contemporary art and want to know a little more about the specifics of how it is..." Read more

"Great fun to read and will written." Read more

8 customers mention "Enlightened"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enlightening and knowledgeable, with one mentioning it provides good stories about the contemporary art world.

"...some themes were the same as 12 million dollar stuffed shark, additional detail and new explorations make for an insightful and worthwhile read...." Read more

"Met the author at an ASA conference, very knowledgeable and entertaining!" Read more

"...reviewer noted, perhaps more detail than essential, but still quite informative." Read more

"...It has a lot of interesting facts and obscene astronomical numbers, but very little economics (no theory or thesis)...." Read more

3 customers mention "Value for money"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers good value for money, with one customer noting the amazing sums of money involved, while another appreciates the good blend of economics.

"...Good blend of economics and social study. A unique exploration of the "Market as Medium"" Read more

"...The sums of money involved are amazing." Read more

"nothing of value" Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book, with one noting it is very easy to read.

"Great fun to read and will written." Read more

"Very easy to read, good stories of the Contemporary Art World...." Read more

"Well written and quite enlightening" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Peter
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting perspective on contemporary art
    Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2016
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    While some themes were the same as 12 million dollar stuffed shark, additional detail and new explorations make for an insightful and worthwhile read. Good blend of economics and social study. A unique exploration of the "Market as Medium"
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  • Tom Groenfeldt
    4.0 out of 5 stars The Art World After the $12 million Stuffed Shark
    Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2015
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    This doesn't have the freshness of the "$12 million Stuffed Shark," which was excellent at dissecting the art markets, especially the evening auctions at Christie's and Sotheby's. But Don Thompson does a great job of moving the story forward. He is probably nevere going to be required reading in graduate art programs eagerly recruiting new students and their tuition spending. He reiterates a point he made in the first book, that criticsa nd gallery owners and auction houses agree that 85 to 90 percent of contemporary art is not good, or awful, they just disagree n which 10-15 percent is great...usually finding much of it located in their own stable of artists.

    London and New York between them have about 80,000 resident artists, writes Thompson. "75 might eventually become mature artists with seven-figure incomes, and another 300 might show in mainstream galleries and earn six-figure incomes from their art.On the next tier are several thousand artists with some gallery representation who supplement their income waiting on tables, teaching, or writing, or who receive support from their domestic partners or from their local welfare authority.
    "There are thought to be 15,000 artists walking the streets of New York or London at any one time, calling on dealers and seeking representation."

    It's a wonder MFA recruiters haven't been prosecuted for fraud. But that's probably true for a range of graduate programs, from social work to journalism.

    He bravely lists the 20 top contemporary artists -- no woman is on the list -- and the most popular would rank between 25 and 50, he says. He also lists the top galleries and notes that the two top auction houses would rank high just on their private dealing. Want to find the next great market? Try Havana where an excellent grad school is turning out great artists. Thompson also looks at evolving markets in the Middle East and China, new museums, huge acquisition budgets, the evolving roles of galleries, auction houses, fairs and internet sales (pretty disappointing so far after two decades of efforts).

    Great on the uber galleries -- loved the comment from Charles Saatchi, not exactly a babe in the wood when it comes to the business of art.
    "I adore Larry Gagosian, but I always hear the theme music from 'Jaws' playing in my mead as he approaches."

    This is mostly the top end of the art market, but also a look at what is happened to the mid-level galleries. The sums of money involved are amazing.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Frederick D. Zigler
    5.0 out of 5 stars most interesting.
    Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2019
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    I have like all of his books.
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  • Shirley Sanders
    5.0 out of 5 stars Met the author at an ASA conference, very knowledgeable ...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2016
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    Met the author at an ASA conference, very knowledgeable and entertaining!
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  • R. Martin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing how we can fool ourselves
    Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014
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    Along with An Object of Beauty (1991) by Steve Martin, we are taken on a detailed visit into the world of "art" to see what it is and what it isn't, plus take a hard look at human nature. Martin provided the fictional, but believable, perspective, and Thompson the factual side. As another reviewer noted, perhaps more detail than essential, but still quite informative.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Katya Cohen
    3.0 out of 5 stars Superficial (and the Brillo Box)
    Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2014
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    This is an interesting light read for people who already know about contemporary art and want to know a little more about the specifics of how it is sold in the high end global market. It is about the “where, when, who and how (effing) much” in the sales of art. It has a lot of interesting facts and obscene astronomical numbers, but very little economics (no theory or thesis).

    The author seems to know a lot about sales, but he does not really talk about the art being sold other than to name the artists and the price their work sells for in various settings. In fact, the way he talks about artists can be misleading. The latest example, and the one that prompted me to sit here and write this review, is that he calls Rirkrit Tiravanija “an Argentinian artist whose canvases sold for in 5 minutes, blah blah”. As a matter of fact, Tiravanija was indeed born in Argentina, so, factually, that is correct. But as his name might indicate, he is anything but, and although his work is “global”, his sensibility speaks way more to his Thai roots (he was the son of a Thai diplomat when he was born in Argentina before being brought up in Thailand and going to school in Canada and the USA). Moreover, if you don’t know anything about his work, the sentence about him in the book makes it sound like he is some kind of painter, which he really reaaally is anything but. And this is only one such example.

    All in all, as a book, like one reviewer said, it is “way to pass the time”; as a metaphor for our times, maybe something else altogether...
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Maarten de Zeeuw
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2014
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    Great fun to read and will written.
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  • Robert D Goldfarb
    1.0 out of 5 stars The first was excellent. This is virtually the same book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2018
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    This is the second of three books written by the author on the art market. The first was excellent. This is virtually the same book, with little, if any, incremental material.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Viktor Wynd
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2014
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    a really good read showing the complete economical nonsense of the art world
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  • André Carrier
    5.0 out of 5 stars Correct
    Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2023
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    Pour maillot de bain
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  • FM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Libro fantastico per gli appassionati di arte contemporanea
    Reviewed in Italy on June 23, 2015
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    Questo libro e' una raccolta di saggi sul mondo dell'arte contemporanea. Spazia dagli artisti, ai collezionisti, i dealer, i fondi, le aste, etc. Spiega benissimo tutti i meccanismi che governano questo mondo per cercare di gettar luce su fenomeni altrimenti alquanto misteriosi. Appassionante ed estremamente informativo.
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  • Lawrence Green
    4.0 out of 5 stars Pulling Back The Curtain
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2015
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    A great read for anyone interested in understanding the economics and psychology of the high end of the art market and strong companion for The 12 Million Dollar Shark. Easy to read, entertaining and informative.
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  • Carlos Duarte
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book brings to light on a global level some insightful information from the super players in the world of art
    Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2014
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    For anyone who knows art and is interested in developing a more intense commercial/contemporary art business. This book brings to light on a global level some insightful information from the super players in the world of art. Curators, agents, gallery owners, artists, buyers and collectors are all meticulously exposed and put into perspective. Don Thompson an economist and art collector himself, writes with out pretension and with humor, which in turn makes this read very enjoyable.
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