Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for Get the Picture:
"[Bosker] has written a dark comedy of manners, and what she exposes here might be a new kind of country club mentality, where the cultural elite can no longer exclude people based on race, gender or sexual identity, so they come up with clever new ways to build moats around their little castles"
Get the Picture is one of the funniest books I’ve read about New York’s contemporary art scene. Brilliant." —The Washington Post
“A gripping and often hilarious investigation into the art world." —TIME
"Eye-opening." —NPR
"Through her funny and fascinating experiences, [Bosker] does the seemingly impossible: sheds light on a strange world of beautiful things and the sometimes-ugly business around them." —Town & Country, "Best Books of 2024 So Far"
"A more grassroots perspective on the market’s machinations comes courtesy of another skilled journalist, Bianca Bosker, in Get the Picture, a page-turning romp around New York’s art world. Her quest, to determine what separates ‘good’ from ‘bad’ art, prompts her to find junior roles at art galleries, then with the artist Julie Curtiss and for the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, all while recording her findings. These reveal many of the baffling codes around intangible value, served up through genuine laugh-out-loud moments." —Financial Times
"Bosker's wit dazzles, but her hands-on quest coupled with careful scholarship is also awe-inspiring." —Galleries West
“Connoisseurs and neophytes alike will be charmed and captivated by Bosker’s boundless curiosity and astute powers of observation." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Get the Picture investigates the questions you’re too chicken to ask: ‘Um, how come this is called art and how come I’m supposed to like it, or is it fakery and what is art anyway?’ Bosker’s answers are fascinating and her writing is so compelling and funny that I am jealous." —Patricia Marx, author of You Can Only Yell At Me For One Thing at a Time
"In this engrossing book, Bianca Bosker crashes that most gate-kept of worlds, contemporary art. Equally edifying for art lovers and novices, Get the Picture will send you into a torrid love affair with shape, texture, and color. I loved every word." —Suleika Jaouad, author of Between Two Kingdoms
"Get the Picture is a brilliant adventure through the fraught, frenzied, fanatical world of art and emerging artists. Bosker flings us into the epicenter of creativity and obsession, and with infectious curiosity, illuminates the surprising science, history, and controversies at the core of our relationship with art. An extraordinary book." —Kirk Wallace Johnson, author of The Feather Thief
"I would buy a painting from this author, even if she weren’t selling it as research; and I highly recommend this book." —Ted Conover, author of Newjack and Cheap Land Colorado
"Fascinating for contemporary art lovers and skeptics alike. At the heart of Bianca Bosker’s intelligent book is the author’s burning curiosity, and it’s contagious." —Patrick Bringley, author of All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me
About the Author
Bianca Bosker is the New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Best American Travel Writing, and been recognized with awards from the New York Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, and more
4.4
