Muscarelle Reads: The Value of Art by Michael Findlay

In this virtual book club co-hosted by David Brashear, Director of the Muscarelle Museum of Art, and Gary Ryan, Director & CEO of the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, we explore "The Value of Art" by Michael Findlay. The book, recently updated, offers a lively and authoritative look at the financial and emotional value of art throughout history. The author draws on a half-century in the business and a passion for great art to question and redefine what we mean by “value,” addressing developments in this conversation since the book was first published in 2012: the rise of NFTs and digital art, the auction house as theatre, the pressing relationship between art and society’s fraught political landscape, and the impact of the pandemic. In this book, the author shares insider anecdotes involving scoundrels and scams, stories of celebrity collectors, and remarkable discoveries, distilling a lifetime of experience.