Breakfast at Sotheby's is a wry, intimate, truly revealing exploration of how art acquires its financial value, from Philip Hook, a senior director at Sotheby's When you stand in front of a work of art in a museum or exhibition, the first two questions you normally ask yourself are 1) Do I like it? And 2) Who's it by? When you stand in front of a work of art in an auction room or dealer's gallery, you ask these two questions followed by others: how much is it worth? how much will it be worth in five or ten years' time? and what will people think of me if they see it hanging on my wall? Breakfast at Sotheby's is a guide to how people reach answers to such questions, and how in the process art is given a financial value. Fascinating and highly subjective, built on thirty-five years' experience of the art market, Philip Hook explores the artist and his hinterland (including -isms, middle-brow artists, Gericault and suicides), subject and style (from abstract art and banality through surrealism and war), "wall-power", provenance and market weather, in which the trade of the art market is examined and at one point compared to the football transfer market. Comic, revealing, piquant, splendid and absurd, Breakfast at Sotheby's is a book of pleasure and intelligent observation, as engaged with art as it is with the world that surrounds it. Philip Hook is a director and senior paintings specialist at Sotheby's. He has worked in the art world for thirty-five years during which time he has also been a director of Christie's and an international art dealer. He is the author of five novels and two works of art history, including The Ultimate Trophy, a history of the Impressionist Painting. Hook has appeared regularly on television, from 1978-2003 on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philip Hook is a director and senior paintings specialist at Sotheby's. He has worked in the art world for thirty-five years during which time he has also been a director of Christie's and an international art dealer. He is the author of five novels and two works of art history, including The Ultimate Trophy, a history of the Impressionist Painting. Hook has appeared regularly on television, from 1978-2003 on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow.

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Particular Books (October 29, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781846146251
ISBN-13: 978-1846146251
ASIN: 1846146259
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 9.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
Average Customer Review: 13 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,042,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #360 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Art

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JudithTop Contributor: Jigsaw Puzzles

Witty, and extremely interesting and informative

November 21, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is one of those books that is so good you don't want it to end. It is an introduction to the world of buying art, but you don't have to own anything more elaborate than a paint-by-number painting to find this book enjoyable. Philip Hook is the very definition of dry, British wit--much of it at his own expense. You will learn about which colors make paintings sell better, which subjects bring high prices and which ones bring low prices. You'll learn about individual artists, and why their works sell or don't sell. A lot of the entries made me want to read more. Particularly the part about the Nazi art crimes, followed by the Soviet Union stealing the Nazi art collection, which the Nazi stole from the Jews was really fascinating. The section on stolen art, missing paintings, and forgeries contained surprising information. Philip Hook is a board member at Sotheby's in London, and previously worked for Christies. He was also a long time favorite art expert on the UK version of Antiques Roadshow. He talks about his Roadshow experiences in the book, and about how hard it was to give people bad news about their family heirloom. I recommend this book to everybody, even if you're not in the art market. It's that good.

5 people found this helpful

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Mystery lover

Two Stars

June 15, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Was disappointed...would prefer his experiences at the museum.

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L. Lang

AN INTRIGUING, WRY LOOK AT THE WORLD OF ART

January 27, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book was delightful. It provided interesting insights about the art world as seen through the eyes of a quintessential insider who has spent a career working for the great auction houses--Sotheby's and Christie's. Written in the format of a dictionary, the work contains discussions about a variety of art related topics, ranging from matters such as what makes individual works of art more or less financially valuable to descriptions of individual artists and their works. The book maintains a dryly humorous approach. I especially enjoyed the author's Glossary of words that are thrown about by contemporary art critics. As he put it, "they are words the meaning of which has become twisted by the desire to energize banality, to elevate mediocrity or simply to make a sale." A worthwhile book, especially to those of us who have no specialized background in art.

4 people found this helpful

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Fascinating reading

March 4, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I enjoyed the author's first-hand knowledge of a world I only hear about on the news--the top 1% billionaire art buyers & what they do with our treasured masterpieces, the hidden lives of artists who have marked history and how they did so, secrets of lost masterpieces, subject matter people love (or not). A wry sense of humor throughout kept it fun to read. The book pokes fun of the art sale trade and also communicates its importance.
The ebook version connects to the internet, so I could look up paintings and artists easily--learned quite a bit!
I recommend this book to artists and art-lovers.

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IndySRJ

Breakfast at Sotheby's: An A-Z of the Art World

February 3, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Did not fully meet my expectations. Did not appreciate the A-Z organization. Title a bit misleading. Tried to cover too much ground. Not a good way to present information. Did include some interesting info about how the art world is affected by world-class auctions. Bits of humor were appreciated. Several sections skipped over because of lack of interest. Good historical facts. A mixed bag. IndySRJ

2 people found this helpful

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Superficial

December 28, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

it is basically a 'brain dump' with no structure - unless you consider several alphabetized lists of art terms. A page of random comments on this, two pages on that, a few b&w illustrations... Bob Giroux of Farrar, Strauss & Giroux used to call such products "ooks" - not quite books. I bought after seeing a friendly review in The Economist ... boggles the mind why they would praise this shapeless pile.

9 people found this helpful

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James gabler

An Art Eye Opener

October 31, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I bought this book with the hope that I would come away with a practical understanding of what Art is about. The author's easy to read and understand explanations of the ins and outs of the art world allowed me to achieve my expectations many times over.

One person found this helpful

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David Gibbons

Great and funny art book on how art is valued

September 16, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Great and funny art book on how art is valued. The most fun of any of the art books I have read.

One person found this helpful

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