Conversation with Marian Goodman

The New York gallerist Marian Goodman, a 41-year veteran of the trade, is known the art world over for her impeccable taste— not to mention her star-studded yet homey postopening dinner parties. She was introduced to collecting by her father, an accountant with an affinity for modern masterworks. And although she now shows such big guns as John Baldessari and Gerhard Richter, she is not afraid to take a chance on a new talent like the British-born, Berlin-based Tino Sehgal. Here, she chats with Sarah Douglas about the art of art dealing.

Was there a particular artwork that was important in developing your gallery’s aesthetic?

In 1974 I met [the Belgian artist] Marcel Broodthaers and fell in love with his work. I then published some editions with him. This was before I had a proper gallery, so I tried to find one for him in New York. When I couldn’t convince anyone, I simply couldn’t believe it— such a great artist! Finally, I told him that I would love to open a gallery to exhibit his work. He said yes. And I did. That was the defining moment. Of course, there were many others as I discovered the work of artists I would come to represent.

Leo Castelli had a very significant influence on you. Why?

He was a great advocate for artists and a model for the responsibility that dealers should feel toward their artists. He was an elegant man working in a very difficult art world, because there were so few collectors then. He ran the greatest gallery of his time and our time.

Was it difficult at first to be in this business as a woman?

I felt it more as a print publisher [under the name Multiples, Inc.]. I didn’t have that feeling so much as a gallerist. Many important women gallerists had come before me, such as Betty Parsons, Martha Jackson and Ileanna Sonnabend. They made things realizable for those of us who followed.

What qualities do you look for in an artist?

For me, the work has to have the power or the poetry to move—through the quality of its content and its relevance to life, through its originality, its metaphysical force or through the magnificence of its physical presence.

You’ve built an impressive stable of artists. How often do you have to deal with other dealers approaching them?

Every gallerist who works with a successful artist faces this kind of challenge. When I started representing the artists of my gallery, some of them unknown, some of them not yet at the height of their career, we worked closely together to achieve their goals. I would like to believe that if a gallerist has worked closely with artists and joined with them to help advance their careers in ways that are productive, supportive and worthy of trust, there is most often a happy ending.

Rival dealers aren’t the only danger. I imagine the auction houses must be more of a concern for you these days than when you started.

The auction house and the gallery have very different functions. It’s the galleries that develop the artists and that are wise to keep the artists’ best interest first and to sell the work responsibly. This isn’t true of the houses— they have no commitment at all to the art itself, and quality is not always their highest priority. I believe they certainly don’t have the artists’ best interest at heart, and they contribute heavily to the idea that art is just merchandise.

Do you ask for a resale agreement when you sell something?

Yes. We ask that the work be kept out of auction for five years.

What if a collector wants to buy from you because he or she has opened a private museum?

It depends on the quality of the collection and the usual criteria. It’s just a matter of experience, trying to decide who’s the best custodian of the work. It’s certainly a big problem that most public museums are increasingly priced out of the market. We try very hard to sell to these institutions, and fortunately, there are generous collectors who donate important works to them.

Many new collectors have come into the market recently. How can you tell which ones are dedicated?

Of course, by conversation, by trying to understand them and their collections. That’s essential. It’s like anything else: You learn by experience and by doing your homework. Sometimes you are surprised, that’s also true. If a collector has a relationship with a museum—is on the board or somehow involved productively— it gives one a better sense of who that collector is. It’s a small world.


"Conversation with Marian Goodman" by Sarah Douglas originally appeared in the November 2008 issue of Art+Auction