Philip Hook

Here for the first time is the history of art dealers, those extraordinary men and women who, over centuries (and almost entirely out of the public eye), built their profession on a singular skill: identifying the intangible but infinitely desirable qualities that characterize the greatest works of art-and finding clients for whom those qualities are irresistible. Philip Hook's riveting narrative takes us from the early days of art dealing in Antwerp,...

Two questions are key to experiencing a work of art in a museum or exhibition: 1.) Do I like it? 2.) Who's it by? You need quite a few more questions if you're in an auction room or dealer's gallery, however. You'll find yourself asking, How much is it worth? How much will it be worth in five or ten years? And finally, what will people think of me if they see it hanging on my wall? Breakfast at Sotheby's is not only a guide to finding the answers...

Modern begins on a specific day - March 22, 1905 - at a specific place: the Salon des Independents in Paris, where works of art we recognize as modern were first exhibited. Drawing on his forty five-year fine art career, author Philip Hook illuminates how this new art came to be - and how truly shocking it was. We witness movement upon movement that burst forth in dizzying succession: Fauvism, Expressionism, Primitivism, Symbolism, Cubism, Futurism,...