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The deal of the art

By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com

Some people have asked Richard Polsky whether he should have changed the title of his book I Sold Andy Warhol (Too Soon).

They have told the author that the parenthetical phrase no longer seems relevant.

"I tell them, that is what the book was about, this particular journey," Polsky says.

The book is about the inflation of the art market in the mid-2000s. Like most financial bubbles of the past decade, it burst in the past couple of years.

Before that, though, Polsky was certain that he had parted with his prized Andy Warhol green "fright wig" painting a year or two too early.

Polsky will be in Lexington later this month for the Lexington Public Library's Night of Literary Feasts. The event brings 14 authors to town for a Friday night cocktail and dinner party Friday night and a Saturday morning coffee reception.

I Sold Andy Warhol is essentially the sequel to I Bought Andy Warhol, an account of Polsky's quest to acquire the painting. It was Polsky's way of writing about the art market.

"Every subculture is interesting," Polsky says. "But the idea of giving the reader something to root for or root against — would the guy get his painting or not? — I thought was a good vehicle to bring the reader along.

"People say, 'What's your book about?' and I say, 'It's pretty much about having $100,000 set aside to buy a Warhol painting."

It's an account of a 12-year ride through the euphoric art market of the 1980s, during which readers meet dealers, visit auction houses and get a behind-the-scenes look at art and how it is dealt and valued.

I Sold Andy Warhol is his account of parting with the painting under financial duress — in the form of a money-hungry bride. Polsky thought he had done well getting $375,000 for the Warhol self-portrait. Then the art market went insane.

The forward for the book is an account of the May 2007 sale of Warhol's Green Car Crash for $71 million.

"Its sale was the period at the end of the sentence for an unprecedented outpouring of money for contemporary art — for the moment," Polsky wrote.

He then takes readers through a Wild West art market that produced such dizzying prices for pieces.

Polsky, of course, often thought that if he had waited longer, he could have gotten much more for his Warhol, although prices have settled back down now.

Polsky is an art dealer himself, having owned Acme Art in San Francisco in the 1980s. He is now a private dealer, living in Sausalito, Calif. These days, he says, he spends 70 percent of his time writing. Much of that writing is about the art market, and he also comments on the business side of art for American Public Media's Marketplace, which is heard locally on WUKY-91.3 FM.

He admits that when it comes to art, it is very easy to get focused on the money.

"The funny thing about this book is it's gotten a lot of attention in the business world," Polsky says. "It hasn't gotten that much attention in the art world."

Polsky compares the inflation of the art market in the past decade to the housing market. People began speculating, and prices rose into the stratosphere. Speculation became a major part of the market.

And Polsky has definite ideas about art pricing, having written art market guides that place buy, sell and hold designations on artists and works. But he was drawn to the business through a love of art, and he defends it.

"Most non-art-world denizens think this is all a big hoax," Polsky says. "Through my books, I'd like people to realize this is a very interesting world, it is legitimate, there's a lot you can learn from being involved in art that pretty much allows you to enjoy your life a little more.

"You look at the world differently once you're knowledgeable in art."