Confessions of a Poor Collector

Originally published in 1970, this facsimile edition presents Eugene M. Schwartz’s unconventional yet compelling guide to building an art collection with limited means.

“…the only important thing about this art, as any art, is the art itself. Not its monetary value, not its social prestige, not its public relations leverage, not the artists themselves, and not the fact that you collected them first. The only thing that counts – the only prize in the game – is who ends up with the paintings.”
– Eugene M. Schwartz

This reissue of the long out-of-print 1970 facsimile makes Eugene M. Schwartz’s philosophy of collecting accessible once again. In clear and pragmatic steps, he explains how it is possible to build a significant art collection even with limited means.

Schwartz was one of the most successful copywriters of his time and the author of several influential books on advertising. Together with his wife Barbara, he assembled one of the most important collections of contemporary American art of the 1960s and 1970s. Hundreds of works from this collection were generously donated to major institutions across the United States.