In Pursuit of Truth in Art, Antiques and Antiquities

Abstract

Grounded in riveting real-life stories, In Pursuit of Truth pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of art, antiques and antiquities. With candor, wit and decades of first-hand experience, the author exposes the deceit, dishonesty and fabrications that have shaped the market for centuries. From Manhattan’s glittering auction houses to the shadowy networks of looted antiquities, readers are taken inside the intrigues of collecting: why some works of conceptual art command obscene prices, how illicit money flows distort the market and why the museums and critics we trust are not always as reliable as they appear. Along the way you'll encounter sovereign wealth heists, grave-robbed treasures and the blind eyes of even the world's most prestigious institutions.

Intended for collectors, scholars, art lovers, journalists and the freshly curious who want to understand not just the beauty of art, but the power, money and deception behind it. Readers will learn how to navigate a world where provenance is often paper-thin, why markets rise and fall on ego as much as talent and what it truly means to seek authenticity in a culture built on illusion.

Unlike other books that romanticize collecting or simply recount scandals, this one is part memoir, part exposé and part cultural history. Written with both seriousness and humor, it invites you to see the art world through the eyes of a seasoned collector, money manager, part-time artist and lifelong seeker of truth.

About the Author

Anthony Beadell is founder, president and senior portfolio manager at A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been adding value to client portfolios for over 50 years. Beadell is a graduate of Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, where he majored in psychology. For many years he has served as a trustee of the Endowment Fund of the Milwaukee Public Museum.

Being a prolific collector since childhood, he is focused today on three major themes: representational painting, Nordic antiques/folk art and 19th century glass paperweights and related objects. He is a major collector of glass portraits--those that were first introduced by the Romans, later reintroduced by the 19th century Italians, and today, fashioned by a number of talented studio glass artists. He has written articles and lectured on his collections.

Beadell is an "after hours" artist, painting in a representational style. His works have been shown in several Midwest galleries. He has studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Art Students League of New York. For decades this money manager, collector, painter and connoisseur of the arts has pounded the pavement of New York, Moscow, London and Paris in pursuit of truth in art, antiques and antiquities.