The Dealer is the Devil: An Insider’s History of the Aboriginal Art Trade
Written by Adrian Newstead
Foreword: Djon Mundine OAM
Published by Brandl & Schlesinger (29 January 2014)
The Dealer is the Devil
Part road trip, part memoir, part history, part political commentary, The Dealer is the Devil is informative thought-provoking and provocative. It is an incredibly exciting and fast-paced account of the fluctuating fortunes and exponential success of the Aboriginal art movement, with all of the elements one would expect of a complex drama, played out on a national and international stage.
“Every rock, every hill, every water, I know that place backwards and forwards, up and down, inside out. It`s my country, and I got names for every place.”
– Queenie McKenzie at Black Fellas Creek, Old Texas, 1995
The Dealer is the Devil is the story of the modern Aboriginal art movement – a most important and transcendent chapter of contemporary Australian art history. Within the space of just forty years, Indigenous artists transformed the perception of their culture from something of strictly ethnographic interest into one of the great internationally acclaimed contemporary art movements. Part road trip, memoir, history and political commentary,
The Dealer is the Devil is thought-provoking and provocative. It is a fast-paced account of the fluctuating fortunes and exponential success of the Aboriginal art movement, with all the elements one would expect of a complex drama, played out on a national and international stage.
Reviews
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“The text is a masterpiece of arts writing”
– Clive Tilsley, Books+Publishing
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"Adrian Newstead is probably uniquely qualified to write a history of that contentious business, the market for Australian Aboriginal art. He may once have planned to be an agricultural scientist, but then he mutated into a craft shop owner, Aboriginal art and craft dealer, art auctioneer, writer, marketer, promoter and finally Indigenous art politician – his views sought frequently by the media."
– ABORIGINAL ART DIRECTORY
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"5 out of 5 stars. A must read for anyone interested in the culture of the First Australians."
–Nairda, Amazon Customer
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"Adrian Newstead’s new expose on the Aboriginal Art Market has everyone talking."
– ARTS HUB
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"An absorbing history of the Aboriginal art industry."
–Mat, goodreads review
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“Full of crucial history and unparalleled knowledge. It is a fabulous read.”
– Fred Myers, Silver Professor, Department of Anthropology, New York University
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"Excellent overview of the last great art movement with first hand accounts of the artists, their history and a highly informed analysis of the work itself and it's trajectory in the marketplace. Very interesting.".
–Warwick Gilbert, Amazon Customer
