Max Beckmann is widely acknowledged as one of Germany's leading twentieth-century artists. A figurative painter throughout his career, Beckmann depicted the world around him with an unparalleled intensity. His art emerges directly from his experiences of the First and Second World Wars, the political upheavals of the 1920s and 1930s, the rise of Nazism, exile in Amsterdam and his final emigration to the United States. By capturing the objects and events that surrounded him, Beckmann hoped ...

Andy Warhol bequeathed us the words "Death can really make you look like a star." But death per se is not a catalyst for the relevance of an artist. What is of crucial importance is the proper management structure for the posthumous preservation and development of an artistic estate. The handbook by Loretta Würtenberger presents the possible legal framework, appropriate financing models, as well as the proper handling of the market, museums, and academia. Her business, Fine Art Partners, h...

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay twelve million dollars for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock’ s drip painting No.5 1948 sell for $140 million? The first book to look at the economics of the modern art world, and the marketing strategies that power the market to produce such astronomical prices, this surprising and revelatory book explores the money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of the art world in an attempt to determine what m...

The meteoric rise of the largest unregulated financial market in the world -- for contemporary art -- is driven by a few passionate, guileful, and very hard-nosed dealers. They can make and break careers and fortunes.The contemporary art market is an international juggernaut, throwing off multimillion-dollar deals as wealthy buyers move from fair to fair, auction to auction, party to glittering party. But none of it would happen without the dealers...

Now a major motion picture starring Guy Pearce, The Last Vermeer* is a revelatory biography of the world’s most famous forger—a talented Mr. Ripley armed with a paintbrush—and a deliciously detailed story of deceit in the art world.It’s a story that made Dutch painter Han van Meegeren famous worldwide when it broke at the end of World War II: A lifetime of disappointment drove him to forge Vermeers, one of which he sold to Hermann Goering in mockery of the...

An "excellent" new edition of the definitive biography of the architectural genius, with more than a hundred photos ( Booklist, starred review).Upon publication, this book was praised by the Chicago Tribune and "the most comprehensive book ever written about the master designer and, by any measure, the best," while the Christian Science Monitor noted that "Schulze has both the gift of an architectural historian able to render Mies's build...

Why has Switzerland - a tiny, land-locked country with few natural advantages - become so successful for so long at so many things? In banking, pharmaceuticals, machinery, even textiles, Swiss companies rank alongside the biggest and most powerful global competitors. How did they get there? How do they continue to refresh themselves? Does the Swiss 'Sonderfall' (special case) provide lessons others can learn and benefit from? Can the Swiss continue to perform in a hyper-competitive global ...

Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture?‘Curate’ is now a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows and biennials in a way that can eclipse and assimilate the contributions of individual artists. Curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and the business world is adopting cu...

The Bauhaus movement (meaning the “house of building”) developed in three German cities - it began in Weimar between 1919 and 1925, then continued in Dessau, from 1925 to 1932, and finally ended in 1932-1933 in Berlin. Three leaders presided over the growth of the movement: Walter Gropius, from 1919 to 1928, Hannes Meyer, from 1928 to 1930, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, from 1930 to 1933. Founded by Gropius in the rather conservative city of Weimar, the new capital of Germany, which had ju...

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay $12 million for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock's drip painting No. 5, 1948 sell for $140 million?Intriguing and entertaining, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark is a Freakonomics approach to the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world. Why were record prices achieved at auction for works by 131 contemporary artists in 2006 alone, wit...

Master the skills that icons throughout history have used to achieve the highest levels of success“Arnold cleverly explains the keys to successful management with references to real-life challenges successfully overcome by iconic leaders. This entertaining book is insightful, thought-provoking, and of immense practical value.”—Fred B. Irwin, President, American Chamber of Commerce in Germany“Profound management know-how and coverage ...

In February 2012, in a Munich flat belonging to the elderly recluse, Cornelius Gurlitt, German customs authorities seized an astonishing hoard of more than 1,400 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures. When Hildebrand Gurlitt's trove became public in November 2013, it caused a worldwide media sensation.Catherine Hickley has delved into archives and conducted dozens of interviews to uncover the story behind the headlines. Her book illuminates a dark period of German history, unt...