Seven Days in the Art World

"A field guide to the nomadic tribes of the contemporary art world. The book was reported and written in a heated art market, but it is poised to endure as a work of sociology." -- New York Times Book Review "The best book yet written about the modern-art boom ... a Robert Altmanesque panorama of the most important cultural phenomenon of the last ten years." -- Sunday Times [London] "Seven Days in the Art World... seems destined to outlive its moment... Thornton offers an indelible portrait of a peculiar society, simultaneously cutthroat and curious... glamorous yet filled with people who would have been unpopular in high school." -- Leslie Camhi - Vogue "An entertaining and lucid account of the mysterious ways of contemporary art... [Thornton] does well to resist the temptation to draw any glib, overarching conclusions. There is more than enough in her rigorous, precise reportage... for the reader to make his or her own connections." -- Peter Aspden - Financial Times "[An] intelligently written ... refreshingly open-minded exploration." -- Washington Post "A terrific book-detailed, gossipy, and insightful... By the end of the book, you almost understand how [Steve] Cohen could shell out $8 million for a rotting 14-foot shark pickled in formaldehyde." -- BusinessWeek "A one-stop tutorial on an often insular subculture ... light-hearted but sociologically acute." -- Time "Finely wrought and thoroughly researched...[with] an ingenious structure... and spot-on characterizations...the author draws readers into the experience... [with her] infectious curiosity and meticulous reporting." -- Annie Buckley - Artweek