Michael Findlay | Source | Director at Acquavella Galleries

MICHAEL FINDLAY is a director of Acquavella Galleries in New York. His career began in 1964, when he became a pioneer of SoHo’s legendary gallery scene, presenting the first solo exhibitions of many then unknown artists who went on to become household names. He is the author of "The Value of Art" and "Seeing Slowly" (both published by Prestel). His memoir "Portrait of the Art Dealer: New York in the Sixties" will be published on September 3, 2024.

Mr. Findlay has two children and is married to the contemporary quilt artist Victoria Findlay Wolfe. They live in Manhattan and Campbell Hall, New York.

PORTRAIT OF THE ART DEALER AS A YOUNG MAN: NEW YORK IN THE SIXTIES

An evocative and exciting journey through the 1960’s New York as an art dealer makes a career of emphasizing the importance of lived experience of art over its pursuit of financial gain, while launching the U.S. careers of some of the most sought-after artists of the late twentieth century.

As an eighteen-year-old college drop-out, how did Micheal Findlay find himself friends with Andy Warhol, renting a coyote for Joseph Beuys, marrying model Naomi Sims, and rubbing shoulders with some of the most influential artists and collectors of the 1960’s and 1970’s? Findlay has become one of the most respected art dealers today, but he launched his career surrounded by the most exciting figures of the late twentieth century art scene.

"Portrait of the Art Dealer as a Young Man: New York in the Sixties" is Findlay’s generously illustrated memoir that traces his childhood in Scotland to his arrival in New York, where he directed one of the first art galleries in SoHo, exposing American audiences to the likes of Joseph Beuys and Sean Scully. Findlay launched the first solo exhibitions of John Baldessari, Hannah Wilke, Stephen Mueller and Billy Sullivan. He offers fascinating recollections about his relationships with painters and sculptors, art dealers and art collectors, actors, models and the creative talents at the heart of New York’s Downtown scene.

Making appearances in Findlay’s stellar cast of characters are David Hockney, Bridget Riley, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ray Johnson, Gerald Laing, Joseph Cornell, Allen Ginsberg, and the poet Gerard Malanga. He vividly depicts comings and goings at The Chelsea Hotel, St. Mark’s Place, Studio 54, and Max’s Kansas City. He describes in candid detail the pros and cons of the wild parties and the freewheeling lifestyle of that swinging era.

Anyone interested in twentieth century cultural history, the post- World War II art market, or sixties and seventies New York will be gripped and entertained by Findlay’s evocatively recounted journey.