{"product_id":"artifacts-to-art-andrew-d-turner-9798887120287","title":"Artifacts to Art","description":"By  the mid-twentieth century, ancient Mexican artifacts had undergone a striking  transformation. Once dismissed as anthropological curiosities, sought after  more for their ethnographic value than aesthetic merit, they had become  prized artworks that were prominently displayed in major US museums, featured  in advertisements and Hollywood films, and shown adorning the homes of  celebrities.    At the center of this shift was Earl  Stendahl, a savvy Los Angeles art dealer who played a pivotal role in shaping  public and institutional perceptions of these objects. Through strategic  marketing and a keen eye for opportunity, he repositioned these artifacts,  selling them to an elite clientele that included movie stars, wealthy  collectors, and museum curators. In doing so, he helped define a new canon of  \"ancient American art.\" Beneath this glamorous facade,  however, lies a darker narrative of the looting, smuggling, and forgery that  fueled this midcentury craze, exposing how the desire for authenticity and  prestige often came at the expense of ethical collecting practices and  cultural heritage. This book brings together art history, museum studies, and  the politics of the antiquities trade, offering both a social history and a  critical examination of how ancient Mexico's past was sold in  twentieth-century America.","brand":"Getty Trust Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52189679517984,"sku":"9798887120287","price":26.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcorner.com\/products\/artifacts-to-art-andrew-d-turner-9798887120287","provider":"The Book Corner","version":"1.0","type":"link"}