An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

Timing is everything. I picked up Steve Martin's "An Object of Beauty" a few years ago, and it didn't grab me. When a friend literally put a copy in my hands recently with a declaration that it was one of her all-time favorites, I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd already soundly rejected it. So I gave it another try. And...I loved it.

The novel tells the story of Lacey Yeager, a young woman whose career in the art world begins in the basement of Sotheby's where she catalogues and measures 19th century American paintings. She is dressed to the nines and always ready with a quick quip. She is supremely confident that her wit (and looks) will get her places, and she's right. Her days are spent at Sotheby's and her nights in the East Village. As our narrator explains, "The contemporary art scene was the left bank suburb to Lacey's right bank, uptown art world." The stage has been set for an exploration into all sectors of the art world from the perspective of the ambitious Lacey.

"Nude Bathers" by Milton Avery (1946)

Lacey eagerly comes into Sotheby's on Saturdays to assist with the deliveries of paintings to be put up for auction. The art handlers aren't there that day, so she can get up close and personal with all kinds of people. When an elderly couple hobbles in with a Milton Avery they paid $300 for back in 1946, Avery's work is described this way. "His pictures were always polite, but they were polite in the way that a man with a gun might be polite; there was plenty to back up his request for attention." (You might be starting to get an idea about why this book captivated me so much.)

Lacey's rise at Sotheby's began when she took on the Avery as a pet project. While the curator estimated the painting would fetch $80,000, Lacey suggested to her colleagues that it would go for $170,000. She worked to make it happen, having the painting reframed and pumping the pipeline for buyers. And it worked. Lacey was starting to get a reputation.

"November in Greenland by Rockland Kent (1932)

As the story progresses, Lacey finds herself immersed in the gallery scene, sometimes on her own and sometimes as a memorable representative of Sotheby's. Her transition to a gallerist begins when she works with gallery owner Barton Talley on a project to bring 40 Rockwell Kent paintings to the United States from Russia. Negotiations -- and machinations -- akin to that of an international summit ensue, with Lacey as part of the prize. (She is not reluctant to take full advantage of her sex appeal.)

Lacey's life is nothing short of a romp through the art world at a time (much like today) when the sky seems to be the limit. While I loved the story, it's Martin's writing that propels it forward. It's funny and fun and thought-provoking and educational. I enjoyed meeting some new artists along the way. (The pictures in the book are terrific.) Martin even managed to work in a storyline about the heist from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It also happens to dovetail nicely with my own exploration of contemporary art. Here are a couple more passages that will give you a sense of why I didn't want to put this book down.

"La Nona Ora" by Maurizia Cattelan (of duct-taped banana fame) (1999)

As to a Warhol that Lacey couldn't quite explain why she loved, Talley said, "Darling, I call that the perverse effect. Those things that you hate for so long are insidiously working on you, until one day you can't resist them anymore...It just takes a while to see the complications in them. It's why outsiders hate the art we love; they haven't spent time with them." (This sentiment echoed that of Anne-Marie Russell, Executive Director of the new Sarasota Art Museum, who talks about her love of art that initially made her recoil. Yes, "recoil" was her exact word.)

As to the overwhelming nature of Art Basel: "There was no way to go from start to finish without doubling back, which created an ongoing loop of deja vu, and I was surprised to see a painting for the second time yet have no recollection of the other pictures around it. It became impossible to evaluate the artworks but easy to enjoy them; they were like a steady parade of beauty queen contestants where you find yourself saying after the fiftieth lovely one, 'Next.'" (This made me feel SO much better about my own overwhelming Art Basel experiences.)

"Felt Suit" by Joseph Beuys (1970)

As to the reference to art works being "in dialogue": "'In dialogue' … meant that hanging two works next to or opposite each other produced a third thing, a dialogue, and that we were now all the better for it...It also hilariously implied that when the room was empty of viewers, the two works were still chatting." (This is precisely what everyone has been talking about with respect to the Museum of Modern Art's placement of Picasso's "Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon" adjacent to Faith Ringgold's "Die" in its new space. Click here for more on that story. Martin's description also made me think of the movie "Night at the Museum.")

The bottom line is this: "An Object of Beauty" is a perfect book for any art lover who doesn't take herself too seriously. And as a reward for reading to the end of this post, you can watch Martin analyze two paintings by clicking here to see him in a segment of the Museum of Modern Art's "The Way I See It." The entire series is outstanding. Enjoy!