Guns, drugs, prostitution, and art are the only deregulated businesses in the world. And you think cartels and pimps are ruthless! Look beneath the veneer of every painting and sculpture you'll discover an equally seedy underbelly.The art world has changed in the fifty years since Patricia Hamilton has been in the business. New York City in 1977 was filled with gentlemen who genuinely loved art. Granted it was misogynistic, anti-black, and anti-LGBTQ but the dealers loved art. Owning an art gallery was a family business and the artists were part of the family.
Today things are radically different. No longer can you have a gallery in a prominent place in New York and be considered a serious dealer. You must have at least three branches in three different cities and participate in 10 art fairs. It's all about money, and if an artist doesn't sell, they're out. Art is no longer a family business, it's big business.
Step inside this rare insider's view of the art world no one talks about. Patricia Hamilton pulls back the curtain on every aspect of the art world from honest dealers to the artists you want to work with, from the collectors to the consultants. This is her memoir and what she uncovers will leave you riveted.

Patricia Hamilton has been involved in the art world for fifty years. First as assistant to Robert Doty at the Whitney Museum, then as Senior Editor of Art in America. Finally, she found her calling as a dealer and was Curator of Exhibitions at the Andrew Crispo Gallery. At the age of 26, she opened her own gallery on 57th Street, the Hamilton Gallery of Contemporary Art. This was 1977, and 10% of women were dealers, and most had family money. She raised all the money to open and showed 60-70% women. She wanted to show mid-career artists who had been ignored by the world. What better reason to show women? She showed Louise Bourgeois (for the first time in a commercial gallery in 15 years), Grace Hartigan, Deborah Remington, and Joan Snyder. Six of the artists have attained blue chip status. Aside from Louise, Deborah, and Joan, she would include Ron Gorchov, Sam Gilliam, and Robert Colescott. Then due to a family tragedy, she closed in 1984 and became an artist's agent. She rented pop-up spaces and showed artists in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In 1990, she moved to Los Angeles before it was fashionable. She became the first director of Salander-O'Reilly Gallery and then went off on her own, selling art to Hollywood collectors. Today, she lives in Whitley Heights in Los Angeles with her two dogs and is peaceful and content.