"The Ultimate Trophy" tells the fascinating story how the Impressionist art movement started what we know as the modern art "industry". Locked out from the French Academy Impressionist artists organized their own exhibitions. Their art was affordable so "normal" people could buy and collect it.
Impressionist art was actually "marketed" to the buying public. This produced a "new phenomenom, the powerful dealer, who interpreted and marketed the new art to the public, and simultaneously employed the artists he was promoting by guaranteeing to buy their work."
The American artist, Mary Cassatt, was living and painting in Paris so she introduced her family and other wealthy Americans to the new Impressionist Art. Hook credits her with convincing many American collectors to buy art from her fellow painters. Quickly America became a huge market for the art French collectors were not interested in buying.
I enjoyed the chapters describing how different countries including America, England and Germany either embraced or rejected Impressionist art based on their historic relationship with France.
Hook actually credits the Impressionists with "softening up" the public for future modern trends that were to come. Athough Monet continued to paint water lilies through it all.
I like his short description of what defined Impressionism and what the public thought was wrong with it, "the colours used were strident and garish; there was a lack of finish: and the subject matter was banal."
Philip Hook is a wonderful writer. His language is clear and very readable. He mixes his own personal experiences as an art dealer with history to make for an interesting story.
more to come...
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