Museum or Marketplace?

National Art Education Association

Museum or Marketplace?Author(s): Vincent PriceSource: Art Education, Vol. 19, No. 2 (Feb., 1966), pp. 29-32Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3190778 .

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MUSEUM OR

Formerly best known for his roles in motion pictures, Vincent Price, Director of the Sears Art Pro- gram, now has a new role in the eyes of the American public: that of tastemaker in the visual arts. Though criticized by many academicians in the field for his efforts in providing a marketplace for works of art well with- in the range of the ordinary wage- earner's pocketbook, few would dispute his intimate knowledge of current public taste in the visual arts. In an effort to assess these current trends, the journal staff, with the assistance of Dr. John Lembach of the Art Department of the University of Maryland, developed a list of questions to which Mr. Price responded. In his replies, Mr. Price, though not anti-museum in attitude, sees the collection and ownership of works of art as a new avenue of partici- pation in the visual arts for the American public.

How do you locate the works for the exhibits?

Fortunately, I have been in many different countries doing motion picture or television work and while in these countries have either searched out the material myself or set up, in advance, large shows of paintings in various galleries from which I can make my selections. For instance, in Rome there were over 1,500 works of art shown to me in one gallery over a period of a month. Through this particular gallery, I made contact with artists not then attached to that gallery but

who submitted pictures for my consideration on their own. In Australia this summer, I had four different people looking for material for me. One in Sydney where I saw 2,000 works of art, one in Melbourne where there were 1,500 works of art, one man who concentrated on noth- ing but Aborigine art and an- other who rounded up a collection of primitive art from the South Seas. Besides all of that material, several galleries and in- dependent dealers submitted material. In Bangkok, representatives from Sears contacted galleries and artists there, and the same was done in Hong Kong. In Japan, much the same procedure was followed with Sears overseas representatives selecting the services of qualified art ex- perts in all areas. In the United States we have conducted two ex- periments in local regional art buying, in Atlanta and New Or- leans, where over 3,000 pictures were submitted for our consideration. This was so successful we plan to do it throughout the country yearly. The same pro- cedures have been followed in Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Much material is submitted to us by artists on their own, either by sending slides of their work directly to us, or through the stores at local levels which are then passed on to us.

What criteria of judgment do you use in selecting the works?

The criteria of judgment for selecting the work is, first of all, honesty. By that I mean, we se-

lect the work of an artist fol- lowing any trend who we feel is a trained and serious artist. Al- though, of course, many primitive and naive painters have been included in the Collection, even these self-taught artists are generally completely serious about their work and have had long careers. We try particularly to encourage young people and to select work from a great variety of styles of one artist in that style in which we feel he is particularly accomplished.

Do you base part of your decision on current trends? Do trends in art follow the art market trends or is the opposite true?

We definitely do not base our decisions on current trends, feeling that they are apt to change very rapidly. Also our public, be- ing more diversified and covering a greater territory than any other in the country, are not always up on what is going on around them. Current trends, in my opinion, too long have dictated what's what in art. To answer the other question, I don't feel that trends in art necessarily follow the over- all art market. New collectors are not necessarily ready for "op" or "pop" art and many of them are more interested in seeing and owning work that they can "understand." We have definitely found that their taste changes and becomes rapidly more advanced -the more they learn and the more they "cement" themselves into a knowledge of art through possession of it.

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Since you travel across the country directing over 300 exhibits, you have a unique opportunity to observe the "climate of opinion" of the general public. How would you describe this "climate"?

The climate of opinion of the general public is as unpredictable as weather news. For instance, a show containing Chagall will sell out all of his works in one location and at the next location none of them will sell. The next time around there may be a complete change and none will sell in the first place and all in the second. Sometimes this is due to ex- posure and very often due to national publicity about the artist. If, for instance, Dali, who by the way, can sell himself better than any artist in the world, has had a particularly big press splash, his etchings and lithographs will sell. But this can also taper off as that publicity is forgotten. Generally speaking, however, I feel that the American art audience is mostly

underrated. They buy what they like in all areas. When we show things that they have heard about but have never seen, for instance a group of Joseph Pennell water- colors, they buy them immediate- ly. Price, naturally, plays an enormous part in the sales, but it ranges much higher than any- one would offhand think. We have found our best price range is between $100 and $400 and that sometimes the public is a little skeptical about anything that is "too reasonable." One customer, who I personally talked to, came in and asked to see the three most expensive pictures in the Collection. I'm still trying to figure out, since he didn't buy anything, whether the price tag guided his critical opinion or whether he was planning on making a "hoist." Anyway, I can do without him and his type.

Does the fact that there are so many amateur artists today have

any effect on the general growth of art appreciation of the public?

I think there is no question about it. The fact that there are so many amateur artists today, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday painters, etc., has been particularly responsible for the enormous at- tendance at our shows. People come out of curiosity to see how the professionals do it and often buy something that they feel will in some way encourage them in their work. They don't always buy work similar to their own but I cannot count the times that I have heard amateurs say "if only I could draw or paint like that." One of the things I've tried to stress in lectures and public appearances is that the involve- ment of people in the arts, thea- tre, painting, etc., no matter how amateur, and whether it produces great artists or not, does produce great audiences and in my opinion this is what is making Amer-

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ica today the most art receptive nation in the world.

What has been the reaction of the public, critics, galleries and museums to the introduction of quality saleable art work in a department store?

Naturally, because of the suc- cess of our project at Sears, we have been targets for some criticism. Not, however, by the public who in general are grateful to have works of high quality art made available to them, often- in cities, even big cities, where there are no galleries. The critics have generally been very kind and constructive and we watch their criticism and act on it many times. The galleries have been a bit more critical and I have heard it said that some of them consider our project "commercial." My answer to this, both in the press and to them directly, is that I have not noticed that they give their paintings away. A recent trip to Japan has added tremendous backing to my feeling that department stores are indeed ex- cellent places for galleries. Most of the major galleries in Japan are in department stores and the public goes from the notion counter to the gallery without thinking twice that art is in any way foreign to any other type of merchandising. Art has always been an enormous "draw" and certainly we have proven this by recording attendances of up to 10,000 people in one day at our exhibitions. I have never been able to understand why big com- panies that purchase works of art for permanent corporation collections and display them are less "commercial" than the ones who display them for sale. For the only way, truly, to involve people in art is by making it possible for them to own it. America has put art in the rarified atmosphere of museums and private collections almost to the point where people were beginning to think it was not or could not be for them.

Of several things which could be done to improve the public appreciation of art in the U.S., what one or two things, in your opinion, could we in art education do to make this appreciation more effective?

I sincerely believe that the art educators of America should em- phasize the fact that the study and appreciation of great art of the past is not enough for a full life. They should try to involve their students in supporting contemporary life through the sup- port of contemporary artists; just as art of the past has been sup- ported. They would be doing a great service not only to the artist, but to the often partly- blind public who have become so inured to the idea that old art is necessarily better than new that they fail to appreciate what is going on visually in their own time.

You are a private collector of art, why do you collect art?

As a collector of art, all the arts, during a long lifetime, I can only say that I have never stopped asking myself why I collect. The answers are many. First of all, I would think the greatest reason is that I feel by having a work of art around me continually I learn from it, not only about the artist but about myself. Collecting has helped me form my taste and I admit happily that my taste changes continually. Of all the areas of collecting in which I have been involved only two have remained constant, primitive art and drawings. In both of these areas I never seem to become bored with the individual work. Primitive art is a direct communi- cation from the artist to the viewer and drawings have that same directness since they are the immediate response of the artist to the subject.

What satisfaction do you get from your personal collecting and from the program for Sears?

My satisfaction from running the Sears Art program is pri-

Continued on page 32

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museum briefs: museum briefs:

Why depend on someone else to have school arts?

Why depend on someone else to have school arts?

In more and more schools everywhere all key people in the art program have their personal copy of SCHOOL ARTS. How about you?

10 ISSUES $7.00

school arts THE MAGAZINE FOR ART EDUCATORS Printers Bldg., Worcester, Massachusetts 01608

EUROPE and the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN July 1-August 25, 1966

15th annual art history study tour of the TYLER SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS

of TEMPLE UNIVERSITY. Six credits. Two weeks in Paris, in London, and motoring among the Dutch and Flemish art treasures are followed by a flight to Athens, for two weeks in Turkey and mainland Greece and a deluxe cruise to Crete, Rhodes and the Aegean islands-continu- ing with a week's stay in Rome followed by ten days of motoring through Italy's art cities-and an (optional) twelve day tour of Spain and Portugal. Miss Carolyn Pitts of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and several European art historians of distinc- tion will give a series of lectures related to the group's visits to ancient sites, palaces, museums, cathedral, galleries and studios-encompassing five millennia from the Minoans to the present. Cost: $1,836 for the first 44 days, $234 (optional) for the last 12-including jet flights NY back to NY, land travel by private motor coach, the Aegean cruise, good hotels, fine meals, evening entertainment, lectures, sightseeing and tuition.

Information from: Director of Summer Sessions,

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Philadelphia, Pa. 19122 or

STUDY ABROAD, Inc. 250 West 57th Street | Post Office Box 1505 New York, N.Y. 10019 I Escondido, Calif. 92026

In more and more schools everywhere all key people in the art program have their personal copy of SCHOOL ARTS. How about you?

10 ISSUES $7.00

school arts THE MAGAZINE FOR ART EDUCATORS Printers Bldg., Worcester, Massachusetts 01608

EUROPE and the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN July 1-August 25, 1966

15th annual art history study tour of the TYLER SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS

of TEMPLE UNIVERSITY. Six credits. Two weeks in Paris, in London, and motoring among the Dutch and Flemish art treasures are followed by a flight to Athens, for two weeks in Turkey and mainland Greece and a deluxe cruise to Crete, Rhodes and the Aegean islands-continu- ing with a week's stay in Rome followed by ten days of motoring through Italy's art cities-and an (optional) twelve day tour of Spain and Portugal. Miss Carolyn Pitts of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and several European art historians of distinc- tion will give a series of lectures related to the group's visits to ancient sites, palaces, museums, cathedral, galleries and studios-encompassing five millennia from the Minoans to the present. Cost: $1,836 for the first 44 days, $234 (optional) for the last 12-including jet flights NY back to NY, land travel by private motor coach, the Aegean cruise, good hotels, fine meals, evening entertainment, lectures, sightseeing and tuition.

Information from: Director of Summer Sessions,

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Philadelphia, Pa. 19122 or

STUDY ABROAD, Inc. 250 West 57th Street | Post Office Box 1505 New York, N.Y. 10019 I Escondido, Calif. 92026

ALLENTOWN, PENNSYL- VANIA-Allentown Art Museum -19th and 20th Century European Drawings, (Circulated by the American Federation of Arts). Through February 20.

CINCINNATI, OHIO-The Cin- cinnati Art Museum-Eighty Years of Printmaking in Cincinnati. Through March 8.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - The Cleveland Museum of Art-Cere- monial and Ornamental Gold Ob- jects from Ancient Peru. February 19 to April 3.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - The Detroit Institute of Arts-Michi- gan Artist-Craftsmen. February 2 to March 20.

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE- Dulin Gallery of Art-20th South- eastern Annual Exhibition spon- sored by the Atlanta Art Associa- tion. February 13 to March 13.

NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTI- CUT-New Britain Museum of American Art-Paintings by Wil- liam H. Earle and Etchings by Liliana Gramberg. February 5 to February 27.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA- Isaac Delgado Museum of Art- The Art of Josef Albers in Retro- spect. Through February 27.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -Museum of Modern Art-Paint- ings by Rene Magritte. Through February 27. Photographs by Dorothea Lange. Through March 22.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -The Gallery of Modem Art- Dali: Five Decades (1918-1965). Through February 27.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -The Solomon R. Guggenheim

ALLENTOWN, PENNSYL- VANIA-Allentown Art Museum -19th and 20th Century European Drawings, (Circulated by the American Federation of Arts). Through February 20.

CINCINNATI, OHIO-The Cin- cinnati Art Museum-Eighty Years of Printmaking in Cincinnati. Through March 8.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - The Cleveland Museum of Art-Cere- monial and Ornamental Gold Ob- jects from Ancient Peru. February 19 to April 3.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - The Detroit Institute of Arts-Michi- gan Artist-Craftsmen. February 2 to March 20.

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE- Dulin Gallery of Art-20th South- eastern Annual Exhibition spon- sored by the Atlanta Art Associa- tion. February 13 to March 13.

NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTI- CUT-New Britain Museum of American Art-Paintings by Wil- liam H. Earle and Etchings by Liliana Gramberg. February 5 to February 27.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA- Isaac Delgado Museum of Art- The Art of Josef Albers in Retro- spect. Through February 27.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -Museum of Modern Art-Paint- ings by Rene Magritte. Through February 27. Photographs by Dorothea Lange. Through March 22.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -The Gallery of Modem Art- Dali: Five Decades (1918-1965). Through February 27.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -The Solomon R. Guggenheim

Museum-Comprehensive Survey of the Art of Nicolas DeStael and European Drawings. February 24 to April 17.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -Whitney Museum of American Art-Niles Spencer Retrospective Exhibition. Through March 6.

OBERLIN, OHIO - Allen Me- morial Art Museum-Paintings by Olle Baertling. Through February 28.

OMAHA, NEBRASKA - Joslyn Art Museum - Art-USA-Now: Johnson Wax Company Collection. Through February 20.

ONEONTA, NEW YORK-One- onta Community Art Center- Ernest D. Mahlke One-Man Show. Through February 19. Drawings and Prints by Burton Wasserman. February 28 to March 12.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA-Civic Center Commer- cial Museum-Modern Decorative Arts of Japan. February 18 to March 13.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA -North Carolina Museum of Art -A Survey of Christian Art. Through February 28.

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS - Ill- inois State Museum-Beauty in Holiness. (Treasures of Jewish Ceremonial art dating from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries). Through February 27.

WASHINGTON, D. C.-The Cor- coran Gallery of Art-A Century of Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington Silver. February 4 to March 6.

WORCESTER, MASSACHU- SETTS -Worcester Art Museum -Paintings on Bark by Australia's Aborigines. February 17 to April 3.

Museum-Comprehensive Survey of the Art of Nicolas DeStael and European Drawings. February 24 to April 17.

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -Whitney Museum of American Art-Niles Spencer Retrospective Exhibition. Through March 6.

OBERLIN, OHIO - Allen Me- morial Art Museum-Paintings by Olle Baertling. Through February 28.

OMAHA, NEBRASKA - Joslyn Art Museum - Art-USA-Now: Johnson Wax Company Collection. Through February 20.

ONEONTA, NEW YORK-One- onta Community Art Center- Ernest D. Mahlke One-Man Show. Through February 19. Drawings and Prints by Burton Wasserman. February 28 to March 12.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA-Civic Center Commer- cial Museum-Modern Decorative Arts of Japan. February 18 to March 13.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA -North Carolina Museum of Art -A Survey of Christian Art. Through February 28.

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS - Ill- inois State Museum-Beauty in Holiness. (Treasures of Jewish Ceremonial art dating from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries). Through February 27.

WASHINGTON, D. C.-The Cor- coran Gallery of Art-A Century of Alexandria, Georgetown, and Washington Silver. February 4 to March 6.

WORCESTER, MASSACHU- SETTS -Worcester Art Museum -Paintings on Bark by Australia's Aborigines. February 17 to April 3.

Continued from Page 31 Continued from Page 31

marily the fact that I am able to bring to literally hundreds of thousands of people the opportunity to become involved in the most enriching experience of my life-collecting or owning a work of art. The American public has been sold such a tremendous bill

marily the fact that I am able to bring to literally hundreds of thousands of people the opportunity to become involved in the most enriching experience of my life-collecting or owning a work of art. The American public has been sold such a tremendous bill

of "necessities" and second rate luxuries that I believe through the Sears Art project I am giving them a chance to become identi- fied with and to possess something of lasting meaning in their lives.

Thank you, Mr. Price.

of "necessities" and second rate luxuries that I believe through the Sears Art project I am giving them a chance to become identi- fied with and to possess something of lasting meaning in their lives.

Thank you, Mr. Price.

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