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The Svengali of Pop Art

As the art market comes back to life, an exclusive excerpt from a new biography of Leo Castelli, the dealer who discovered Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and Andy Warhol. VIEW OUR GALLERY.

Published May 12 2010 2:41PM EDT

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---1_adrhcn

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---1_c7jjs3 — Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg, and Leo Castelli at a party in 1950.

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---6_gebuiz — Castelli (center) and his wife, Ileana Sonnabend, entertain at their home in 1953.
Peter Stackpole / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---4_lsmyuw — Castelli in 1960 surrounded by artwork in his gallery (L-R): Arundel Castle by Frank Stella, Flag by Jasper Johns, untitled by Lee Bontecou, Torso by Eugene Higgins and The Bed by Robert Rauschenberg.
Eliot Elisofon / Getty Images

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---9_aqloty — Castelli presents President Kennedy with a bronze Jasper Johns Flag sculpture on Flag Day, June 14, 1963.
Courtesy of Jean-Christophe Castelli; Art © Jasper Johns/ Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---7_zk4ggk — Castelli and his second wife, Toiny, entertain Jasper Johns at home in 1965—with Johns' Flag over the fireplace. The painting, which eventually became part of the late author Michael Crichton's collection, sold this week at auction for $29 million.
Sam Falk / New York Times Co. / Getty Images

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---5_p6az7q — Castelli visits with James Rosenquist in 1966.
Sam Falk / New York Times Co. / Getty Images

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---10_o6pzjb — Castelli with artist Keith Haring and art dealer Tony Shafrazi in 1995. A decade earlier, Shafrazi had helped Castelli find a market for Pop art in Iran.
Nan Goldin

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---2_gvls2o — In 1988, Castelli—with Jeffrey Deitch, Barbara Jakobson, and Laura Grisi—boarded a private plan to visit collectors in Florida.

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---3_mhoshv — In 1991, French President Francois Mitterrand presented Castelli with the prestigious Legion of Honor medal.

galleries/2010/05/12/the-svengali-of-pop-art/leo-castelli---8_y1lu1x — Larry Gagosian who was mentored by Castelli, at the Gagosian Art Gallery in 1999. "If Castelli was an 'artist's gallery,'" a rival dealer remarked, "Gagosian is a 'collector's gallery.'"
Rose Hartman / Getty Images

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