Review of The Art of the Steal (2010) by Ross L — 04 Sep 2011

Nicely crafted but astoundingly one-sided, "The Art of the Steal" is another example of that most American of "progressive" message entertainment: the underdog story where the underdog is incredibly wealthy, attractive, or talented, or all three. And yet we're still supposed to consider them plucky and genuine and worth rooting for.

As an exemplification of the way that the field of play overwhelmingly favours the U.S. monied elite, this documentary has its notable points. But the whole argument for the Barnes Collection staying where it is comes across as epically snobbish, to say nothing of it being swamped by its own persecution complex. Is the ideal of art really for it to be seen by as few people as possible, to be so completely controlled by the idiosyncratic whims of its owner alone? I can sympathize with the Friends of the Barnes' anti-corporate-capitalism views, certainly, but the art world, as lucrative and prestigious as it may be, seems like an odd place to try and impose it.