Megacollectors Suppose They Can Enter Art History

I Rage Against Vincent Van Gogh For Needing To Die At 37, After Painting For Only Ten Years.

Galleries Needn't Be Exactly Like White Columns Purely Because Times Are Bad Again. But The Idea Of This Special Space Could - Should - Help Shape What Comes Next.

You Can't Prove Rembrandt Is Better Than Norman Rockwell - Although If You Actually Do Prefer Rockwell, I'd Say You Were Shunning Complexity, Were Secretly Conservative, And Hadn't Really Looked At Either Painter's Work. Taste Is A Blood Sport.

I See Around 100 Shows A Month, Going From Niketown-size Palaces Where You Feel Like Yelling, To Storefronts In Bushwick. Each Has To Pay The Bills; Keep Artists Happy; And Cope With Collectors (oy!), Curators (ay-yi-yi), Critics (woo-hoo!), And Occasionally Plumbers. That Their Fiscal Life Often Hangs In The Balance Only Adds To The Energy.

Auction Houses Run A Rigged Game. They Know Exactly How Many People Will Be Bidding On A Work And Exactly Who They Are. In A Gallery, Works Of Art Need Only One Person Who Wants To Pay For Them.