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 was featured in a cover story on New York magazine tagged: "The New Queen of the Art Scene".[2][3]
In 1977, Boone opened the 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] Boone's gallery and presence throughout the 1980s offered a departure from conceptual and minimal approaches to art by supporting a revival in painting.[12]
In 1982, Boone was named "The New Queen of the Art Scene" by New York magazine.[13] 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 joined Boone's gallery in 1984 after his first solo show there; he partnered with the gallery and mounted early shows featuring the painter Jean Michel Basquiat. Basquiat .[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.[citation needed]
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]
Boone was married to fellow art dealer Michael Werner, with whom she has one son. The couple later divorced.[19]
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."[29] 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.[30] 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."[31] She was released from prison in 2020.[32]
On March 28, 2024, 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
^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...
^ abc(1982-04-19),"The New Queen of the Art Scene". New York
^ abcdefghijklmHass, 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 ...
^Stamler, Hannah (2017-03), "Allan McCollum, Mary Boone Gallery | Chelsea." Artforum, [5] Retrieved February 14, 2019.
^Knoblauch, Loring (2018-07-9),"Laurie Simmons, Clothes Make the Man: Works from 1990-1994 @Mary Boone." Collector Daily, [6] Retrieved February 14, 2019.
^Patricia Hurtado and Katya Kazakina (September 6, 2018), Art Dealer Mary Boone Pleads Guilty to Federal Tax Crimes, Daily Tax Report
