A Life of Collecting: Victor and Sally Ganz [Hardcover]

Michael Fitzgerald (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998 | ISBN-10: 0810963582 | ISBN-13: 978-0810963580

For more than 45 years, from the time they purchased Picasso's "The Dream" in 1941, Victor and Sally Ganz accumulated an eminent collection of 20th-century art. The colour reproductions in this book are accompanied by essays analyzing the Ganzes' vision and commitment to contemporary art. From the start of their collection, the Ganzes pursued their belief that modern culture is defined by the achievements of only a few great artists. For 20 years they collected Picasso's work exclusively, but then, realizing that Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella and Eva Hesse were Picasso's true heirs, the Ganzes began to buy their works and developed close relationships with them. The book's illustrations include photographs of the pair with their family, friends, and the artists they helped to establish.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810963582
• ISBN-13: 978-0810963580
• Product Dimensions: 13.5 x 11.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,145,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Collecting Art: The Secret is to Do It Out of Love, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Life of Collecting: Victor and Sally Ganz (Hardcover)

If you have ever wondered what makes a collector a collector, you will be interested in reading this book. Victor and Sally Ganz were New York collectors who began collecting early in the 1940's with the purchase of Pablo Picasso's "The Dream" -- which they obtained for the princely sum of $7,000. Although the book does not reveal this fact, after their death the same painting fetched the staggering sum of $44 million dollars at a Christies auction, part of the largest single-owner sale ever held (over $200 million was realized). This book, while not telling you how to do the same, chronicles the collecting life of this self-effacing New York couple. It contains essays by famed Picasso writer John Richardson, and by other noted art historians such as Leo Steinberg and David Sylvester, plus some tributes by several artists the Ganzes collected. The book includes an interview with the late renowned gallery owner and dealer Leo Castelli. All of the essays are beautifully illustrated in full-color. This is not only a great coffee-table book but one which will educate you as well.