Overview
An extraordinary memoir of fortune, fraud, and the master of modern art
Art dealer Stan Lauryssens made millions in modern art, but he sold only one name: Salvador Dalí. The surrealist painter’s work was a hot commodity for the newly rich, investors, and shady businessmen looking to launder their black-market cash. Stan didn’t mind looking the other way; he just hoped the buyers would look the other way as well. The artworks he sold came from some very questionable sources, but he soon discovered that the shadiest source of all was Dalí himself.
The more successful Stan became, the closer he came to Dalí, until he found himself living next door to the aging artist, in the Catalonian hills. While hiding from Interpol’s detectives, Stan spent his time with the artists, musicians, business associates, and eccentrics who surrounded Dalí. He learned about Dalí’s secret history, the studio of artists who produced his work, and the moneymaking machine that kept Dalí’s extravagant lifestyle afloat long after his creativity began to flounder.
Dalí & I offers a behind-the-scenes view of the commerce and conspiracy that go hand in hand in the international art world, written by a man who has been to the top only to discover that it’s not so different from the bottom.
Synopsis
An extraordinary memoir of fortune, fraud, and the master of modern art
Art dealer Stan Lauryssens made millions in modern art, but he sold only one name: Salvador Dalí. The surrealist painter’s work was a hot commodity for the newly rich, investors, and shady businessmen looking to launder their black-market cash. Stan didn’t mind looking the other way; he just hoped the buyers would look the other way as well. The artworks he sold came from some very questionable sources, but he soon discovered that the shadiest source of all was Dalí himself.
The more successful Stan became, the closer he came to Dalí, until he found himself living next door to the aging artist, in the Catalonian hills. While hiding from Interpol’s detectives, Stan spent his time with the artists, musicians, business associates, and eccentrics who surrounded Dalí. He learned about Dalí’s secret history, the studio of artists who produced his work, and the moneymaking machine that kept Dalí’s extravagant lifestyle afloat long after his creativity began to flounder.
Dalí & I offers a behind-the-scenes view of the commerce and conspiracy that go hand in hand in the international art world, written by a man who has been to the top only to discover that it’s not so different from the bottom.
Nadine Dalton Speidel - Library Journal
"What did you do before you were an art investment counselor?" he asked./"Ever heard of Panorama Magazine?" I replied.../"...before that?"/"I made holes in cheese."/The inspector laughed.../"...you've always been selling hot air." So goes the dialog in this memoir by Lauryssens, a Belgium art dealer who spent time in prison for selling counterfeit works from surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. The text is somewhat uneven in the book's first half; readers may not be sure whether they should be taking any of it seriously. Eventually, however, relationship development between the main character and others in the story makes the narrative more grounded and convincing. The book, scheduled to be adapted into a movie starring Al Pacino (as Dalí) and Cillian Murphy (as Lauryssens), is supposedly an international best seller, though it seems more like a movie tie-in. Lauryssens, also a crime novelist, won the Hercule Poirot Award in 2002 for his first thriller, Black Snow. Purchase as needed in larger libraries and libraries specializing in art history.
Editorials
Library Journal
"What did you do before you were an art investment counselor?" he asked./"Ever heard of Panorama Magazine?" I replied.../"...before that?"/"I made holes in cheese."/The inspector laughed.../"...you've always been selling hot air." So goes the dialog in this memoir by Lauryssens, a Belgium art dealer who spent time in prison for selling counterfeit works from surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. The text is somewhat uneven in the book's first half; readers may not be sure whether they should be taking any of it seriously. Eventually, however, relationship development between the main character and others in the story makes the narrative more grounded and convincing. The book, scheduled to be adapted into a movie starring Al Pacino (as Dalí) and Cillian Murphy (as Lauryssens), is supposedly an international best seller, though it seems more like a movie tie-in. Lauryssens, also a crime novelist, won the Hercule Poirot Award in 2002 for his first thriller, Black Snow. Purchase as needed in larger libraries and libraries specializing in art history.
—Nadine Dalton Speidel