Paul Gottlieb, Longtime Publisher of Art Books, 67
DGH
Paul Gottlieb, the former publisher and editor in chief of Harry N.
Abrams, who helped bring lavishly illustrated fine-art books to a
mainstream audience, died on June 5, 2002, at his home in New York, New
York, at the age of 67, from a heart attack.
Mr. Gottlieb retired in January 2001 as publisher, president and editor
in chief of Harry N. Abrams while remaining vice chairman of its French
parent company, La Martinière Groupe, and he recently resigned that post
to become executive director of the small photography publisher
Aperture. He was also recently named chairman of the Academy of American
Poets.
But he is best known for his two decades as editor in chief of Harry N.
Abrams. Previously a distinguished but small publisher of illustrated
art books, Abrams, with Mr. Gottlieb's help, became the dominant art
book publisher in the United States, more than doubling its revenue. Mr.
Gottlieb saw the swelling ranks of college graduates, the growing
attendance at art museum exhibitions and the spread of national
bookstore chains. And he bet aggressively that there was a much larger
potential market for expensive, high-quality art books outside museum
boutiques and in bookstores nationwide.
"He understood that museums and universities were tremendous evangelical
forces to get people interested in art, and they were real allies for a
publisher," said Eric Himmel, Mr. Gottlieb's protégé and successor.
Mr. Gottlieb capitalized on the cultural cachet of renowned museums by
bidding for the distribution rights to their exhibit catalogs, at one
point making Abrams a co-publisher with the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Whitney, among many
others.
He pioneered strategies for turning the catalogs of well-known museum
exhibitions into blockbusters, , beginning in 1983 with the catalog for
"The Vatican Collections: The Papacy and Art" at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art. Mr. Gottlieb is often credited with turning big, glossy catalogs
into an essential part of a major museum exhibition. Many other
publishers now bid aggressively against Abrams in auctions for the
rights to publish them.
He developed a knack for publicity as well, turning the publication of a
new book into an event. In 1986, for example, he agreed to publish a
controversial collection of secret portraits by the artist Andrew Wyeth
of a model named Helga and then arranged a companion show at the
National Gallery in Washington. Mr. Wyeth's wife created a sensation
when she said she did not know of his seeming obsession with Helga
during the 15 years when he made the portraits and that he probably
loved her. "Andrew Wyeth: The Helga Pictures," published by Abrams in
1987, sold more than 500,000 copies.
Mr. Gottlieb even managed the unlikely trick of persuading the major
mail-order book clubs to adopt expensive Abrams books. The
Book-of-the-Month Club chose "The Helga Pictures" as the first art book
to appear as a main selection. The Literary Guild chose as its first
illustrated main selection "The National Geographic Society: 100 Years
of Adventure and Discovery," which was published by Abrams in 1987 and
sold more than a million copies.
Mr. Gottlieb also developed a special relationship with the State
Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The child of two immigrants
from Russia, Mr. Gottlieb was fluent in Russian as well as French, and
he became involved in helping the museum exploit its extensive
collection. In 1995, Abrams published "Hidden Treasures Revealed," which
accompanied an exhibition of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art at
the museum.
Mr. Gottlieb jokingly traced his interest in art to his birth just a few
blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His mother, Liza Gottlieb,
may also have played a role. She was a Russian translator who often took
him to museums and passed along a love of literature.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his mother; his sister, Gail
Seiden; two sons, Nicholas, of New York, and Andrew, of Los Angeles; a
stepson, Nicholas Scharlatt, of New York; his first wife, Linda
Gottlieb; and two granddaughters.
Mr. Gottlieb served two years in the Army before starting his career in
the mailroom at the William Morris agency. In 1962, he joined the
American Heritage Publishing Company, where he eventually worked as
publisher of American Heritage magazine and, from 1970 to 1975, as
president and publisher of the company.
Mr. Gottlieb had recently begun speaking publicly, in a Wall Street
Journal article, for example, about a nearly crippling bout with
depression more than two decades ago.
But he was known in the industry as a bon vivant with a vast network of
connections. He was an imposing figure, 6 feet 5 inches tall with a
ruddy complexion. On his desk he kept a sign with the French phrase
translated as "Let the Good Times Roll," and even in recent weeks could
be seen drinking wine or a martini with lunch at the Union Square Cafe.
Excessive partying once lead to a temporary leave from Swarthmore
College before graduating in 1956, said his son, Nicholas Gottlieb.
"He would show up for class in his evening clothes," said his successor,
Mr. Himmel. "He would tell everyone that story."