Scope and Contents At the time of this lecture, James Johnson Sweeney was director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. Sweeney opens with a discussion of varying motives for purchasing art, and acknowledgement of the perception of the contemporary collector having “vastly more money than sensibility.” Throughout the lecture, Sweeney emphasizes the importance of “selection” rather than “collection,” and reiterates a distaste for collectors that accumulate for the sake of doing so. Sweeney...

Scope and Contents Paul Mocsanyi introduces Peregrine Pollen, president of the Sotheby Parke-Bernet Galleries between 1965 and 1972. Mocsanyi gives an overview of Pollen’s education and work experience, including studies at Eton and Oxford, military service, and previous employment as an instructor of Latin, gas station attendant, and aide-de-camp to the governor of Kenya, before its decolonization. Pollen emphasizes that his experience in auction houses is limited to Sotheby’s and now, through the course of a...

Scope and Contents Opening remarks are given by Paul Mocsanyi of The New School; he introduces August Heckscher, then Administrator of Recreation and Cultural Affairs for Department of Parks in New York City. Heckscher discusses the value of public art and the importance of the newly-created New York State Council on the Arts. Heckscher then introduces Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. Governor Rockefeller makes reference to a recent appearance on the Tonight Show with Jonny Carson. Rockefeller...

Scope and Contents Richard Rush, author of Art As an Investment, relates a recent buying trip to Europe, during which he visited 700 galleries and sixty-six museums, ultimately purchasing thirty-five paintings. He discusses the geography of the international post-World War II art market, focused primarily in continental Europe. Rush describes the market’s price-setting mechanisms and its uniformity across market centers, and the establishment of arbitrage regardless of...

Scope and Contents Sam Kootz, recently-retired New York gallery director, offers an overview of the role of a gallery and successful operating strategies for galleries. Kootz emphasizes the importance of a gallery having a “vision” and to not “operate as a department store, offering all kinds of things for every taste.” Kootz presumes a certain level of knowledge and savvy among collectors, but also outlines various “types” of collectors, with some degree of satire. Kootz lists several collectors...