Ivan Lindsay

Ivan James Lindsay (born 8 July 1962) is an art dealer, publisher, and writer.

Family background

On his father's side, Lindsay is part of the Scottish clan Lindsay.

Early Life

Lindsay was educated at Eton College, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and spent four years in the British Army in Southeast Asia.

Publishing

In the late 1990s, Lindsay began publishing museum catalogues under his own imprints, such as the one for Southampton City Art Gallery in 1998 and the Wallace Collection (2004). After studying stolen art for many years, and lecturing on the subject, he wrote an examination of the subject from antiquity to the present day, 'The History of Loot and Stolen Art.' This book dedicates a chapter to major looters throughout history, such as Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin, examining their looted items and motivations.

In the early 2000s, Lindsay began studying mid-20th-century Russian art, which led him to produce and co-write six books on the subject. His most recent book, 'Soviet Women and their Art: The Struggle for Equality,' co-written with Rena Lavery, provides a cross-disciplinary examination of early 20th-century feminism and gender politics in the Soviet Union, relating it to the rise and development of prominent female artists and sculptors.

Published work

List of books published, written or co-written

• Renaissance to Impressionism, Masterpieces from the Southampton Museum, An illustrated Guide, Unicorn Press (1998)
• The Wallace Collection, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, Unicorn Press, 2004
• A History of Loot and Stolen Art: From Antiquity Until the Present Day, Unicorn Press, Unicorn Publishing Group (2013) ISBN 978-1-90650-921-7 Search this book on .
• Masterpieces of Soviet Painting and Sculpture, English language edition, Unicorn Press, 2016 (Co-written). For a review
• Masterpieces of Soviet Painting and Sculpture, Russian Language edition, Unicorn Press, 2016
• Art of the Soviet Union, The Portraits, co-authored with Rena Lavery, Unicorn Press, Unicorn Publishing Group (2018) ISBN 978-1-91078-787-8 Search this book on .
• Art of the Soviet Union, The Landscapes, Unicorn Press, 2018
• Art of the Soviet Union, Still Lifes, Unicorn Press, 2018
• Art of the Soviet Union, Nudes, Unicorn Press, 2018
• Soviet Women and their Art, The Struggle for Equality, Unicorn Press, 2019. For a review .

Articles

Lindsay has written over 60 articles for newspapers and magazines. He primarily writes about art, stolen art, and the art market, but sometimes covers cultural issues or disputes. He served as the Art Writer and Contributing Editor at Spear's from 2008 to 2014. In 2011, Lindsay was a judge at the Design for London Awards. In 2017, Waterstones, in partnership with Hatchards, launched Lindsay's last three books, and hosted a seminar at their Piccadilly branch, Europe's largest bookshop, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. The seminar, titled "1917 - 100 years On: Reflections on Art of the Soviet Union, Then and Now," featured Ivan Lindsay, Professor John Milner of the Courtauld Institute, and film director Margy Kinmonth.  

Lindsay occasionally addresses contemporary cultural issues. In 2012, he wrote articles in Spear's and Country and Town House Magazine regarding the £45 million needed to save Titian's painting 'Diana and Callisto' from leaving Britain.

In 2013, artist George Baselitz made a comment reigniting discussion about women artists' underrepresentation in museums. The statement sparked renewed debate on why women artists are underrepresented in museum collections and the art market. In the past decade, only 11% of museum acquisitions were by women, and women comprised just 2% of art market turnover during that time. Lindsay publicly defended women artists, attributing their limited success to cultural and historical factors rather than a lack of talent. He was widely quoted in newspapers, including London's Independent, where he stated, "This is a hugely contentious issue. Some people think women just generally aren't as good, others believe they have been held back through history. It is a fairly outrageous and provocative thing for Baselitz to say... But he has got to an age where he doesn't care. Others would probably agree but wouldn't like to stick their head above the parapet."

Lindsay has followed and reviewed the Rybolovlev versus Bouvier Affair, the largest art world dispute on record, concerning Dmitri Rybolovlev's purchase of approximately US$2 billion worth of art from Yves Bouvier. Rybolovlev alleges Bouvier charged him an excessive commission of approximately US$1 billion more than agreed. The case focuses on whether Bouvier acted as an agent or principal in the twenty-two transactions involved.

In November 2017, Lindsay analyzed Leonardo's 'Salvator Mundi' painting shortly after its record-breaking US$450 million sale at Christie's. He argued that the painting was by a Leonardo pupil and had been heavily restored to resemble Leonardo's style. Many scholars at the time of the sale declared the painting to be by Leonardo, a factor contributing to its record-breaking price. However, Lindsay's perspective has since been adopted by numerous art historians and writers.

Selected articles

• Russian Revolution, Country House Magazine, May 2007.
• Eastern Bloc, Country House Magazine, November 2007.
• In defense of the Russians, Gstaad Life, January 2006.
• Russian Art Shopping, Hermitage Magazine, in Russian and English language editions, Hermitage Magazine Vol. 2, 2008.
• Art Lovers of the World Unite, WMS Magazine, Spring Issue 2008.
• Capital Gainsborough, WMS Magazine, Summer 2008.
• DaDa? Da! Da!, Russians appear in the art market, WMS Magazine, Autumn 2008.
• The Hirst is yet to come, WMS Magazine, Winter 2008.
• Sale of the Century, Country and Town House magazine, January 2009.
• Lock up your Demoiselles, WMS Magazine, Spring 2009.
• Post-Money-Sexy, WMS Magazine, Summer 2009.
• Its going to the dogs (interview with businessman Jim Mellon), WMS Magazine, Autumn 2009.
• Family Jewels, Spears Magazine, Winter 2009.
• Good Egg, WMS Magazine, Summer 2010.
• Looks Good on Paper, WMS Magazine, Spring 2010.
• Bid Farewell, WMS Magazine, Summer 2010.
• Aristocrats to sell off their Treasures, When the going gets Toff, WMS Magazine, Autumn, 2010.
• Buying art as an investment, Go Figure, Spears Magazine, Winter 2010.
• Should we worry about Masterpieces leaving the UK, I am a Masterpiece, get me out of here, Spears Magazine, March/April 2011.
• The Rise of Russian Art Money, OIL Paintings, Spears Magazine, May/June 2011.
• Sotheby's Stock is a lead Indicator of the Stock Market, The Canary in the Mineshaft, Spears Magazine, May/June 2011.
• What is a Masterpiece?, Here's the Thing, Spears Magazine, September/October 2011.
• Are Blockbuster exhibitions damaging art?, Queuebism, Spears Magazine, December 2011.
• Should the public spend 50m pounds on a Titian, Yes, by Jupiter!, Spears Magazine, December 2011.
• Why Picasso is attractive is attractive to first-time buyers...and auctioneers, Blue Chip period, Spears Magazine, March/April 2012.
• The Story behind the Royal Collection, One is remarkably eclectic, Spears Magazine, May/June 2012.
• Munch's Scream breaks auction records, but what do top prices tell us about paintings, Painting by numbers, Spears Magazine, July/August 2012.
• Aristocrats need to sell to keep the roof over their head, Spears Magazine, September 2012.
• Let's talk about Sex, Why does art by women artists still sell for less, Spears Magazine, September/October 2012.
• What happens to Royal and Private Art Collections during Revolutions?, First Against the Wall, Spears Magazine, November/Dcember 2012.
• The benefits and dangers of art restoration, Spears Magazine, December 2012.
• 60 Masterpieces to return from the Hermitage to Houghton Hall in Norfolk, From Russia with Luck, Spears Magazine, March/April 2013.
• The Sunshine Estate (Interview with David and Jackie Siegel), Meet the Timeshare Tycoon and former Swimwear Model building the largest house in America, Spears Magazine, May/June 2013.
• A lot to be desired, Spears Magazine, July/August 2013.
• Western Auction Houses master art of selling to the East, Spears Magazine, September/October 2013.
• Why Detroit should sell its art, Spears Magazine, October 2013.
• An unintended consequence of QE, an art market boom, Spears Magazine, September 2013.
• The Queen of Versailles, an update on the life of Jackie Siegel, Country and Town House Magazine, December 2013.
• How much for the Bust?, Spears Magazine, November/December 2013.
• Will activist investors keep Sotheby's on the money?, Spears Magazine, January/February 2014.
• From Napoleon to the Nazis, The 10 most notorious looted artworks, The Guardian Newspaper, Art and Design Section, November 2014.
• Alchemy as Leonardo's 'Salvator Mundi' sells for an astonishing US$450m, Russian art dealer blog, Nov 2017.
• Ilya Dmitrychev, Chief of London Bureau for Russian News Agency TASS, covering the book launch at Hatchards, Piccadilly, for the book Soviet Women and their art, the struggle for equality, 8/5/2019.

References

This article "Ivan Lindsay" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Ivan Lindsay. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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