Graham Arader
Encyclopedia
W. Graham Arader III is perhaps the largest and most significant dealer of rare maps
, prints
and natural history
watercolors within the United States
. He established his business in 1974, bringing a high-charged, trading floor mentality to the print market. His business began with maps and Arader is credited with creating a market where formerly there was much less, and of bringing the world of cartography to the collector and not just the purview of academics and librarians. In The Island of Lost Maps, author Miles Harvey
credits him with transforming what had been an "insular realm of aficionados," giving maps "unprecedented visibility, not only as investments... but as mass-media artifacts." Arader has brought a similar acumen to the sale of natural history prints, books, and watercolors and is the largest dealer of John James Audubon
’s highly-prized double-elephant folio prints from The Birds of America
.
His success is founded upon remarkable enthusiasm for history and innovative sales techniques as well as an eye for quality. In 1981, he established the Arader Grading System to establish the worth and importance of rare maps, prints, and books, and as defined by conceptual importance, aesthetic quality, condition, and rarity. This system, combined with “original color” (as opposed to the modern hand-coloring of prints), has become Arader’s by-word for superiority.
Arader also invented a method of selling by syndication, a form of retailing with an added touch of gambling. For a fixed amount, clients purchase shares in the distribution of a set of prints or watercolors. By process of lottery, numbers are drawn to determine the order in which clients make a selection. Such a method was used by Arader in the fall of 1985, when he stunned the world of art auctions by buying the original watercolors for Pierre-Joseph Redouté
’s masterpiece, Les Liliacées. Sotheby’s planned to auction off the flower watercolors one-by-one, but Arader created one of his sydicates and, in a remarkable coup, purchased the whole group with a single, unchallenged bid of five million dollars. Each of his investors acquired four watercolors for a share price of $63,250.
Often regarded as a maverick, Arader has been described as “abrasive and solicitous, argumentative and engaging, unscholarly yet imposingly knowledgeable, charming when he absolutely needs to be and flatly rude when it suits him…” His forceful and highly competitive personality has rankled many of Arader’s competitors.
Arader was most recently profiled in Forbes Magazine in the October 24, 2011 issue. He is also discussed by Sarah Vowell
in episode 86 of This American Life
.
, San Francisco Zoo, Lenox Hospital, New York School of Interior Design, Independence Seaport Museum, Fine Arts Museum San Francisco, Columbia University
, Akiva Hebrew Day School, Harvard University
, Wildlife Conservation Society, Children's Scholarship Fund, The Frick, Animal Medical Center, NYC Outward Bound, America Prairie, Santa Fe Opera, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Nietsche Music Project, Telfair Art Museum, Collegiate School, Irish Society, New York Historical Society, City Squash, and the Dwight School.
Arader launched his "Educating the Next Generation" program that utilizes works of art to elevate the study of natural history as a subject of higher learning and to educate younger generations on the importance of understanding and preserving our natural world. Arader's aim to "help young people to appreciate the course of human history from the Age of Discovery to the Age of Empire" was most recently realized at Northeastern University.
Arader is a former trustee of the Yale Library Associates and South Street Seaport Museum, New York. Currently, Arader serves on the board of the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University and the Board of Pediatric Urology of Columbia University. He is also on the Long Range Planning Advisory Council at Marymount College.
undergraduate. He played No. 1 singles on the varsity squash
team for three years, and spent much of the rest of his time at Yale exploring the magnificent map holdings of the Sterling Memorial Library
and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
. The curator of the Yale map collection, Alexander O. Vietor, became his mentor and Arader proudly boasts that he is “the only guy in history who used Yale as a trade school.” In 1972, he received a B.A. degree in economics and the four-time All-American squash champion began a short-lived career as a tree surgeon
. Two years later, his father, a Philadelphia businessman and map collector, lent his son one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and Arader began to travel the antique-show circuit. From small beginnings, selling maps out of the back of a station wagon, Arader has built a multi-million dollar business. He currently owns galleries in New York
(2), Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, and King of Prussia
, Pennsylvania.
MAPS
Maps is the plural of map, a visual representation of an area.As an acronym, MAPS may refer to:* Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organisation that provides anti-spam support...
, prints
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
and natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
watercolors within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He established his business in 1974, bringing a high-charged, trading floor mentality to the print market. His business began with maps and Arader is credited with creating a market where formerly there was much less, and of bringing the world of cartography to the collector and not just the purview of academics and librarians. In The Island of Lost Maps, author Miles Harvey
Miles Harvey
Miles Harvey is an American journalist and author. He is best known for his 2000 book, The Island of Lost Maps, which recounted the strange story of a Floridian named Gilbert Bland, who stole many old and precious maps from various libraries across America.Harvey graduated from the University of...
credits him with transforming what had been an "insular realm of aficionados," giving maps "unprecedented visibility, not only as investments... but as mass-media artifacts." Arader has brought a similar acumen to the sale of natural history prints, books, and watercolors and is the largest dealer of John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
’s highly-prized double-elephant folio prints from The Birds of America
Birds of America (book)
The Birds of America is a book by naturalist and painter John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds of the United States. It was first published as a series of sections between 1827 and 1838, in Edinburgh and London....
.
His success is founded upon remarkable enthusiasm for history and innovative sales techniques as well as an eye for quality. In 1981, he established the Arader Grading System to establish the worth and importance of rare maps, prints, and books, and as defined by conceptual importance, aesthetic quality, condition, and rarity. This system, combined with “original color” (as opposed to the modern hand-coloring of prints), has become Arader’s by-word for superiority.
Arader also invented a method of selling by syndication, a form of retailing with an added touch of gambling. For a fixed amount, clients purchase shares in the distribution of a set of prints or watercolors. By process of lottery, numbers are drawn to determine the order in which clients make a selection. Such a method was used by Arader in the fall of 1985, when he stunned the world of art auctions by buying the original watercolors for Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
Pierre-Joseph Redouté , was a Belgian painter and botanist, known for his watercolours of roses, lilies and other flowers at Malmaison. He was nicknamed "The Raphael of flowers"....
’s masterpiece, Les Liliacées. Sotheby’s planned to auction off the flower watercolors one-by-one, but Arader created one of his sydicates and, in a remarkable coup, purchased the whole group with a single, unchallenged bid of five million dollars. Each of his investors acquired four watercolors for a share price of $63,250.
Often regarded as a maverick, Arader has been described as “abrasive and solicitous, argumentative and engaging, unscholarly yet imposingly knowledgeable, charming when he absolutely needs to be and flatly rude when it suits him…” His forceful and highly competitive personality has rankled many of Arader’s competitors.
Arader was most recently profiled in Forbes Magazine in the October 24, 2011 issue. He is also discussed by Sarah Vowell
Sarah Vowell
Sarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture, and was a contributing editor for the radio program This American Life on Public Radio...
in episode 86 of This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
.
Philanthropy
Arader is highly philanthropic and gives extensively to charitable causes. Over the past decade, he has made significant contributions to the following institutions and charities; University of Tennessee, University of Georgia, Los Angeles County Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, East Side House Settlement, University of Florida, Bruce Museum, Franklin College, Boston Library, Marymount College, Northeastern University, William Clements Library, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Rigosin Institute, Fatherhood Education, United Way of Miami, The Parsons School, The Wilderness Society, The Library Company, University of South Carolina, Roundabout Theatre Company, Redwood Library, NY Aquarium, MMOA, Robin Hood Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife, American Antiquarian Society, Mann Music Center, Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, San Francisco Zoo, Lenox Hospital, New York School of Interior Design, Independence Seaport Museum, Fine Arts Museum San Francisco, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Akiva Hebrew Day School, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Wildlife Conservation Society, Children's Scholarship Fund, The Frick, Animal Medical Center, NYC Outward Bound, America Prairie, Santa Fe Opera, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Nietsche Music Project, Telfair Art Museum, Collegiate School, Irish Society, New York Historical Society, City Squash, and the Dwight School.
Arader launched his "Educating the Next Generation" program that utilizes works of art to elevate the study of natural history as a subject of higher learning and to educate younger generations on the importance of understanding and preserving our natural world. Arader's aim to "help young people to appreciate the course of human history from the Age of Discovery to the Age of Empire" was most recently realized at Northeastern University.
Arader is a former trustee of the Yale Library Associates and South Street Seaport Museum, New York. Currently, Arader serves on the board of the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia University and the Board of Pediatric Urology of Columbia University. He is also on the Long Range Planning Advisory Council at Marymount College.
Early life
By his own account, Arader's career began while he was still a Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
undergraduate. He played No. 1 singles on the varsity squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
team for three years, and spent much of the rest of his time at Yale exploring the magnificent map holdings of the Sterling Memorial Library
Sterling Memorial Library
Sterling Memorial Library is the largest library at Yale University, containing over 4 million volumes. It is an example of Gothic revival architecture, designed by James Gamble Rogers, adorned with thousands of panes of stained glass created by G. Owen Bonawit.The Library has 15 levels, each with...
and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library was a 1963 gift of the Beinecke family. The building was designed by architect Gordon Bunshaft of the firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, and is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books...
. The curator of the Yale map collection, Alexander O. Vietor, became his mentor and Arader proudly boasts that he is “the only guy in history who used Yale as a trade school.” In 1972, he received a B.A. degree in economics and the four-time All-American squash champion began a short-lived career as a tree surgeon
Arborist
An arborist, or arboriculturist, is a professional in the practice of arboriculture, which is the cultivation, management, and study of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants...
. Two years later, his father, a Philadelphia businessman and map collector, lent his son one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and Arader began to travel the antique-show circuit. From small beginnings, selling maps out of the back of a station wagon, Arader has built a multi-million dollar business. He currently owns galleries in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(2), Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, and King of Prussia
King of Prussia
King of Prussia may refer to:* A ruler of the former German state of Prussia**List of rulers of Prussia* Place names** King of Prussia, Pennsylvania* Shopping Centers** King of Prussia Mall...
, Pennsylvania.
Publications
- Arader, W. Graham. Native Grace: Prints of the New World, 1590-1876. West Palm Beach, 1999.