Product Description

From London to Beijing to New York, art sales are booming, and the art world receives the sort of breathless media attention once reserved for celebrities and royals. In "Seven Days in the Art World", Sarah Thornton, a brilliant young sociologist, looks at all aspects of buying, selling, and creating serious art. Thornton has exceptional access, and brings a keen critical eye to her coverage of this glamorous milieu, offering the first authoritative account of what is now a multi-billion dollar global marketplace-cum-playground for an ever-expanding number of collectors, investors, and enthusiasts.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2894 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
'Parachutes the reader into the real nitty-gritty of how it all works - openings, dealers, artists, prizes, auctions et al. Reading this book is like having your own spy in the art world' Alan Yentob 'A thorough insight into the contemporary art world through seven fascinating stories ... a must-have for all art buffs' Tatler 'Curators and dealers provide the insider info and often the laughs, as the closed world of art is systematically demystified' Dazed and Confused 'An excellent, vivid, wittily written book - the characters are tightly drawn, the events covered are important, and the aphorisms come thick and fast - I'm hoping for a second volume' Sunday Times 'A lively, compulsive and splendidly gossipy manual' The Times 'Fascinating, not least because while she was researching and writing, it must have seemed like an insider's view of a world that would last forever. The book may now stand as its memorial' Art Quarterly 'A coherent account that's informative and entertaining - for a casual overview of how the international art scene operate, in all its ruthless eccentric, spectacular glory, Seven Days in the Art World is hard to beat' Jewish Quarterly

Review
'Excellent'

Review
'A definitive primer to the ever-booming contemporary art scene'

Customer Reviews

Really readable guide to the contemporary artworld
Thoroughly readable and entertaining. Without overtly editorialising, the author provides a fascinating insight into different relationships at work in the art world. The shifts in power between artists, dealers, collectors and auction houses are fascinating to unravel as we are guided through the maze of events with clarity and a great sense of humour. I would recommend this as a must read for students of art - of any age.

A work of art in itself.
This book is brilliantly written and full of insights into the many cogs of the art world machine and who lubricates them. Judging by her qualifications, Sarah Tornton was designed to write this book. I look forward to looking at her next project. My only minor criticism of this book is that the pace of the writing slows a bit towards the very end.

Enlightening & entertaining
Contemporary Art World 101 with commentary by a stellar cast of players in the field! What a treat to have somebody with such brilliant observation and writing skills provide an intelligent and highly entertaining account of the different - yet inter-related - actors in the contemporary art market. ENJOY!