Michael Alistair Findlay (born 1945) is an art dealer and author residing in New York City. Findlay is a Director of

Acquavella Galleries Acquavella Galleries is an art gallery located at 18 East 79th Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. History Acquavella Galleries was founded at 598 Madison Avenue in 1921 b ...

, which specializes in

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

European works of art as well as Post-War American painting and sculpture. Findlay is also the author of two books, ''The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty'' (2012) and ''Seeing Slowly: Looking at Modern Art'' (2017).

Childhood

Michael Findlay was born in

Dunoon Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He was educated at St. George's College, Weybridge, England and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

, Toronto. Findlay has lived in New York City since 1964.

Early career (1964-1984)

Findlay was a Director of Richard Feigen Gallery from 1964–1971. He curated major exhibitions in its uptown galleries, first at 24 East 81st Street, then at 27 East 79th Street, including "The Artists Collect" in 1964, a group show featuring

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

Robert Indiana Robert Indiana (born Robert Clark; September 13, 1928 – May 19, 2018) was an American artist associated with the pop art movement. His iconic image LOVE was first created in 1964 in the form of a card which he sent to several friends and acq ...

Tom Wesselmann Thomas K. Wesselmann (February 23, 1931 – December 17, 2004) was an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement who worked in painting, collage and sculpture. Early years Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati. From 1949 ...

, John Willenbecher,

Lee Bontecou Lee Bontecou (January 15, 1931 – November 8, 2022) was an American sculptor and printmaker and a pioneer figure in the New York art world. She kept her work consistently in a recognizable style, and received broad recognition in the 1960s. Bont ...

George Segal George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. Hi ...

Jack Youngerman Jack Albert Youngerman (March 25, 1926 – February 19, 2020) was an American artist known for his constructions and paintings. Biography Jack Youngerman was born in 1926 in Webster Groves, Missouri, moving to Louisville, Kentucky in 1929 wi ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

Arman Arman (November 17, 1928 – October 22, 2005) was a French-born American artist. Born Armand Fernandez in Nice, France, Arman was a painter who moved from using objects for the ink or paint traces they leave (''cachets'', ''allures d'objet'') to ...

, Marisol, Robert Bücker, and

Ellsworth Kelly Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, c ...

; a 1965 display of Bridget Riley's Op Art paintings, coinciding with the Museum of Modern Art's show ''

The Responsive Eye Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images ...

''; and “Words” in 1967, a thematic show of text-based art, which featured the work of

Joseph Cornell Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and film-maker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of Assemblage (art), assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde e ...

, Enrique Castro-Cid,

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

, Oyvind Fahlstrom, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns,

Ray Johnson Raymond Edward "Ray" Johnson (October 16, 1927 – January 13, 1995) was an American artist. Known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, he was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art and was described as

(who helped organize the show),

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg,

Peter Saul Peter Saul (born August 16, 1934) is an American painter. His work has connections with Pop Art, Surrealism, and Expressionism. His early use of pop culture cartoon references in the late 1950s and very early 1960s situates him as one of the fa ...

, and

Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, pain ...

. On September 3, 1968, Findlay launched Feigen Downtown, one of the first contemporary art galleries to open in

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

, at 141 Greene Street, with a group show of American and European artists. The second show held at the downtown gallery, from October 12–November 16, 1968, featured the work of

John Baldessari John Anthony Baldessari (June 17, 1931 – January 2, 2020) was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a painter, ...

, Carol Brown, David Milne, Ralph Pomeroy. He gave American artists

Hannah Wilke Hannah Wilke (born Arlene Hannah Butter; March 7, 1940 – January 28, 1993) was an American painter, sculptor, photographer, video artist and performance artist. Wilke's work is known for exploring issues of feminism, sexuality and femininity. B ...

, John Baldessari, Stephen Mueller and Billy Sullivan their first solo exhibitions in New York. He also represented

Abstract Expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

Ray Parker. In 1970 he established his own SoHo gallery, J.H. Duffy and Sons Ltd., which he ran until 1977. He was the first dealer in the United States to exhibit the work of

Sean Scully Sean Scully (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving fro ...

and

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

. During this time, Findlay also bought and sold

and 20th-century works of art on behalf of American and European private collectors. He also secured early portrait commissions for Pop artist

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

of actor

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

and others.

Christie's (1984-2000)

Findlay joined

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

auction house in 1984 and was the Head of the Impressionist and Modern Art Department until 1992. From 1992 until 2000 he was the International Director of Fine Arts and a member of Christie's board of directors. During his tenure at Christie's he was instrumental in the sale of various important collections, including Mr. and Mrs.

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall ...

, Victor and Sally Ganz and

Hal B. Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing '' Casablanca'' (1942), '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and ''True Grit'' (1969), along ...

. In 1990 he supervised the sale of ''Dr. Gachet'' by

Vincent Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

for $82,500,000, which at the time was the highest price paid for a work of art at auction. Findlay opened the Christie's office in Shanghai in 1994 with an exhibition of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary masterpieces. In 1995 he was part of a small team that advised the new

Shanghai Museum The Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. Rebuilt at its current location in 1996, it is considered one of China's first world-c ...

in the creation of a Western art program. Findlay retired from Christie's in 2000.

Other activities

A former student of St. George's College, Findlay has served on the board of The British Schools and Universities Foundation, Inc since 1972. He has been a member of the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

’s (IRS) Art Advisory Panel, which helps the IRS assess the appraisals taxpayers submit to ensure they pay the correct taxes on art they have bought, sold, or given or received as gifts or inheritance, since 2001. He has also served on the board of directors of the

New York Foundation for the Arts The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...

since 2013, and was President of the Art Dealers Association of America, from 2019-2021. In 2022, he was appointed to the Cultural Property Advisory Committee by

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Joe Biden.

Personal life

Findlay was married to African American model

Naomi Sims Naomi Ruth Sims (March 30, 1948 – August 1, 2009) was an American model, businesswoman, and author, She was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of ''Ladies' Home Journal'', which occurred in November 1968, and is widely cr ...

from 1973 to 1991. Sims was the first black model to appear on the cover of a mainstream American women's magazine, ''

Ladies' Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...

''. He married the contemporary quilt artist Victoria Findlay Wolfe in 1999. He has two children. His brothers name is John Findlay who married to Nancy Ramey. Together John and Nancy had three kids named Claire Findlay, Fiona Findlay and Frank Findlay. Claire Findlay has two kids Alexandre Deslongchamps and Nicolas Deslongchamps. Fiona Findlay has one child named Daniel Deschennes. Frank Findlay has three children, Febe Findlay, Zachary Findlay and Zoe Findlay.

Published works

Findlay has published essays and art criticism in magazines and exhibition catalogues and has been writing and publishing poetry since the 1960s, when he read in venues like

Judson Church The Judson Memorial Church is located on Washington Square South between Thompson Street and Sullivan Street, near Gould Plaza, opposite Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. I ...

and Metro Café with Ann Waldman,

Gerard Malanga Gerard Joseph Malanga (born March 20, 1943) is an American poet, photographer, filmmaker, actor, curator and archivist. Early life Malanga was born in the Bronx in 1943, the only child of Italian immigrant parents. In 1959, at the beginning of h ...

, Barbara Holland and others. He studied poetry with

Jean Valentine __NOTOC__ Jean Valentine (April 27, 1934December 29, 2020) was an American poet and the New York State Poet Laureate from 2008 to 2010. Her poetry collection, ''Door in the Mountain: New and Collected Poems, 1965–2003'', was awarded the 2004 N ...

June Jordan June Millicent Jordan (July 9, 1936 – June 14, 2002) was an American poet, essayist, teacher, and activist. In her writing she explored issues of gender, race, immigration, and representation. Jordan was passionate about using Black English i ...

and

Kenneth Koch Kenneth Koch ( ; 27 February 1925 – 6 July 2002) was an American poet, playwright, and professor, active from the 1950s until his death at age 77. He was a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry. This was a loose group of poets includ ...

, and his work appears in poetry magazines, most recently'' Lalitamba ''and ''Cloudbank 11.'' He is a contributing author of ''The Expert versus The Object: Judging Fakes and False Attributions in the Visual Arts,'' edited by Ronald Spencer and published by Oxford University Press in 2004. His book, ''The Value of Art: Money, Power, Beauty'', was published by Prestel in 2012, and has been translated into German, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. An expanded edition was released on November 2022, updated with "new material on the latest art deals, reflections on race and culture, the impact of the pandemic on the art world." His second book, ''Seeing Slowly: Looking At Modern Art,'' was published in August 2017.