Mary Boone

Mary Boone (born October 29, 1951) is the owner and director of the Mary Boone Gallery and was instrumental in the New York art market of the 1980s. Her first two artists, Julian Schnabel and David Salle, became internationally known and, by 1982 she had earned a cover story on New York magazine tagged "The New Queen of the Art Scene." The Mary Boone Gallery has represented notable artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barbara Kruger, Eric Fischl, Ross Bleckner, and Brice Marden. Originally based in SoHo, Boone currently has two galleries, one in midtown on Fifth Avenue, the other in Chelsea.

Early career (1973-1989)

Born in Erie, Pennsylvania to Egyptian immigrant parents, Boone studied Art History at Rhode Island School of Design and received her BFA in 1973. Deciding she did not have the skill to make it as a painter, Boone moved to New York City to study art history at Hunter College. After working as a secretary at the influential Bykert Gallery, she opened her own gallery in SoHo in 1977 to a positive reception. Her first two artists, Julian Schnabel and David Salle rapidly became popular in the Neo-expressionism movement. While Schnabel became a celebrity artist, Boone was recognized as a new breed of dealer; young and aggressive. Boone was able to expand her gallery across the street in 1981 and, in 1982, secured emerging artist Eric Fischl. Boone had earned a reputation for hype and media frenzy around herself and her artists when she was featured on the cover of New York magazine that same year. The rising artist Jean-Michel Basquiat joined the Mary Boone Gallery before his well received 1984 solo show there. Established artist Barbara Kruger was the first female artist to join Boone in 1987, surprising the art world that a leading feminist "deconstructivist" appropriation artist would join the gallery best known for aggressive neo-expressionist painting.