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Mary Boone

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Mary Boone
Bornc. 1951 or 1952 (age 72–73)
Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationRhode Island School of Design
Hunter College
Occupation(s)Art dealer, collector
Years active1977–present
Children1

Mary Boone (born 1952)[1] is an American art dealer and collector. As the owner and director of the Mary Boone Gallery, she played an important role in the New York art market of the 1980s. Her first two artists, Julian Schnabel and David Salle, became internationally known, and in 1982 she had a cover story on New York magazine tagged "The New Queen of the Art Scene".[2][3] Boone is credited with championing and fostering dozens of contemporary artists including Eric Fischl, Ai Wei Wei, Barbara Kruger, Laurie Simmons, Peter Halley, Ross Bleckner, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Originally based in SoHo, Boone operated two galleries, one on Fifth Avenue, the other in Chelsea. Following her 2019 conviction and sentencing to 30 months in prison for tax evasion, she indicated the intention to close both galleries.[4][5]

Early life

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Boone moved to New York City at the age of 19 from Erie, Pennsylvania. Her parents were working class Egyptian immigrants.[6] She studied art history at Rhode Island School of Design and received her BFA in sculpture in 1973.[7][8] Boone met sculptor Lynda Benglis at Hunter College and the artist introduced her to the director of Bykert Gallery, Klaus Kertess, where she would eventually work.[9]

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In 1977, Boone opened a gallery, Mary Boone Gallery, in SoHo, New York City. The gallery quickly rose to prominence by exhibiting new painters associated with Neo-expressionism such as Eric Fischl, Julian Schnabel, and David Salle.[10][11] Whereas conceptual and minimal approaches to sculpture had dominated the 1970s in the art and cultural downtown scenes, Boone's gallery and presence throughout the 1980s offered a fresh and prophetic departure from status quo by supporting a revival in painting.[12]

In 1982, Boone was named "The New Queen of the Art Scene" by New York magazine.[13] She would go on to play an important role in the New York art market and shaping contemporary art in the 1980s. A New York Times critic later described her gallery's 1979 exhibition of Julian Schnabel's work as perhaps being "the key launching pad" for Neo-expressionism.[14]

The Swiss art dealer and collector Bruno Bischofberger partnered with the gallery and mounted early shows featuring the painter Jean Michel Basquiat. Basquiat joined Boone's gallery in 1984 after his first solo show there.[10][11][15] The two galleries shared a selection of artists. Boone successfully brought a Neo-expressionist movement to Europe and Bischofberger situated these American painters alongside the post-war painters like Anselm Kiefer and Georg Baselitz.

In 1988, Barbara Kruger became the first woman to join the gallery.[16]

The gallery played a significant role in the development of the art market in the 1980s.[17][18] Boone was one of the first dealers to require waiting lists for collectors to buy works not yet produced.[13]

The Mary Boone Gallery moved from SoHo to uptown New York in 1996.[19] In the early 2000s, Will Cotton, Tom Sachs, and Inka Essenhigh joined the gallery's roster.[19]

Boone's career as an art dealer spans the epoch formally classified as Contemporary Art and she is regarded as one of the most successful art dealers of her generation. Though Boone's reputation in the art world has fluctuated as drastically as the art market itself over the past four decades.

In September 2018, Boone pleaded guilty to filing false income tax returns and "agreed to pay more than $3 million in restitution for taxes she owes for 2009, 2010, and 2011."[20] During the trial proceedings, collectors, dealers, artists Wendy White and Sheila Pepe, and art critic Jerry Saltz gave testimony to Boone's character and her lifelong dedication to the art establishment. "Mary's been a target forEVER," Pepe tweeted, "Like all the boys aren't cooking the books." On February 14, 2019, Boone was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.[21] In a statement to ArtNews, Boone said "If I'm going to be the Martha Stewart of the art world, I would hope to do it with the same humility, humor, grace and intelligence that she did. I'm trying to be optimistic and see this as a learning experience."[22] She was released from prison in 2020.[23]

Artists

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Artists who have been represented or shown by the Mary Boone Gallery include:

Personal life

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Boone was married to fellow art dealer Michael Werner, with whom she has one son. The couple later divorced.[19]

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Boone was portrayed by Parker Posey in Julian Schnabel's 1996 biographical drama Basquiat,[6] accompanied by Dennis Hopper as Bischofberger.

On March 28, 2024, Indie/Rock band Vampire Weekend released a single from their then upcoming record, Only God Was Above Us, titled "Mary Boone".[33] An alternate video for the single features footage of Boone from a 1986 documentary.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Fischl, Eric (October 22, 2014). "Mary Boone". Interview. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017. ...the 62-year-old Boone ... an Erie, Pennsylvania, native who moved to New York at the age of 19...
  2. ^ a b c (1982-04-19),"The New Queen of the Art Scene". New York
  3. ^ Hurtado, Patricia; Kazakina, Katya (September 5, 2018). "Art Dealer Mary Boone Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax Crimes - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  4. ^ "Dealer Mary Boone to Close Her New York Gallery". February 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "From Art World Superstar to Felon: What Happened to Mary Boone?". April 18, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Sayej, Nadja (March 21, 2019). "'I feel like a pariah' – how art dealer Mary Boone fell from grace". The Guardian. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Freeman, Nate (February 14, 2019). "The Rise and Fall of the Queen of the New York Art World". Artsy. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  8. ^ "RISD XYZ Spring/Summer 2012". Issuu. Spring 2012. p. 73. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  9. ^ Sayej, Nadja (March 21, 2019). "'I feel like a pariah' – how art dealer Mary Boone fell from grace". The Guardian. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  10. ^ a b McGuigan, Cathleen (1985-02-85),"New Art, New Money". The New York Times, New Art, New Money
  11. ^ a b Raynor, Vivien (1984-05-11),"Art: Paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat at Boone". The New York Times, [1]
  12. ^ Cottington, David, Modern Art: A Very Short Introduction, 2005, p35. Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-280364-6
  13. ^ a b Finke, Nikki (2005-11-17),"Blame Ovitz: When Art Started Imitating Hollywood", LA Weekly, [2]
  14. ^ Brenson, Michael (January 5, 1986). "ART VIEW; IS NEO-EXPRESSIONISM AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS PASSED?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2023. The key launching pad may have been the November 1979 exhibition of Schnabel's plate paintings at the Mary Boone Gallery
  15. ^ Hofbauer, Anna Karina. "Basquiat Chronology". Bruno Bischoffberger. Galerie Bruno Bischoffberger.
  16. ^ Spears, Dorothy (August 24, 2010). "Resurgent Agitprop in Capital Letters". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Tittel, Cornelius (2006-05-14), "And then it went boom", Die Welt Am Sonntag. "Cornelius Tittel: And then it went boom - signandsight". Archived from the original on June 25, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2006.
  18. ^ David Rimanelli (September 1, 1997). "Uptown girl: Mary Boone's new art gallery in uptown SoHo". Interior Design. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hass, Nancy (March 5, 2000). "Stirring Up the Art World Again". The New York Times. Retrieved June 27, 2023. The flamboyant dealer once known as the Queen of SoHo, who moved uptown in the mid-1990s ...
  20. ^ Patricia Hurtado and Katya Kazakina (September 6, 2018), Art Dealer Mary Boone Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax Crimes, Daily Tax Report
  21. ^ "Gallerist Mary Boone Has Been Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison". observer.com. February 15, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  22. ^ Russeth, Andrew (February 23, 2019). "Recently Sentenced New York Art Dealer Mary Boone Will Close Her Gallery". Art News. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  23. ^ Holmes, Helen (June 6, 2020). "Incarcerated Art Dealer Mary Boone Has Been Released From Prison Early". The Observer. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Interview Magazine". Interview Magazine. October 22, 2014.
  25. ^ Geers, David (2017-06-20),"Judith Barry, Mary Boone Gallery". Frieze Magazine, [3] Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  26. ^ Black, Hannah (2015-06-03),"Ericka Beckman, at Mary Boone." Art in America Magazine, [4] Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  27. ^ Bleckner, Ross (July 1, 2001). "Inka Essenhigh by Ross Bleckner". Bomb. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  28. ^ "The Process: Hilary Harkness". September 2011.
  29. ^ "Hilary Harkness Joins P.P.O.W. Gallery in New York". July 15, 2019.
  30. ^ "artnet.com Magazine Features - Mary Boone's Chelsea Triumph". www.artnet.com. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  31. ^ Stamler, Hannah (2017-03), "Allan McCollum, Mary Boone Gallery | Chelsea." Artforum, [5] Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  32. ^ Knoblauch, Loring (2018-07-9),"Laurie Simmons, Clothes Make the Man: Works from 1990-1994 @Mary Boone." Collector Daily, [6] Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  33. ^ "Vampire Weekend Share Video for New Song "Mary Boone": Watch". Pitchfork. March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  34. ^ "Vampire Weekend "Mary Boone" video collage: Official Underground Alternate Edition".
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