View source for Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960

{{Infobox book
|author= [[William Boyd (writer)|William Boyd]]
|image=NatTate.jpg
|caption=First edition
|name=
|isbn= 1-901785-01-7
|oclc= 38934333
|release_date= June 1998
|publisher= Edition Stemmle
}}
'''''Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960''''' is a 1998 novel, presented as a biography, by the Scottish writer [[William Boyd (writer)|William Boyd]].  Nat Tate was an imaginary person, invented by Boyd and created as "an abstract expressionist who destroyed '99%' of his work and leapt to his death from the Staten Island ferry. His body was never found."<ref name=NW98>{{Citation | last=Plagens | first=Peter | title=The Late Great Tate | journal=[[Newsweek]] | date=20 April 1998 | page=62}}</ref>  At the time of the novel's launch, Boyd went some way to encourage the belief that Tate had really existed.

== Art hoax ==
Boyd published the book as a [[hoax]], presented as a real biography. [[Gore Vidal]], [[John Richardson (art historian)|John Richardson]] ([[Pablo Picasso|Picasso's]] biographer), Karen Wright (then editor of the influential [[Modern Painters (magazine)|''Modern Painters'']] magazine) and [[David Bowie]] (a board member of ''Modern Painters'' and co-director with Karen Wright of [[21 Publishing]], which published the book) were all participants in the hoax. "Nat Tate" is a combination of the names of two London art galleries, the [[National Gallery (London)|National Gallery]] and the [[Tate Gallery]]. Boyd and his conspirators set about convincing the New York glitterati (social elites) that the reputation of this influential abstract expressionist needed to be re-evaluated.<ref>{{cite web |title= Biography of William Boyd |url=http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=851 |publisher=BookBrowse.com |accessdate=2007-05-19}}</ref>

Bowie held a launch party on [[April Fool's Day]] eve, 1998,<ref name=NW98 /> and read extracts from the book, while Richardson talked about Tate's friendships with both Picasso and [[Braque]].

About a week later, journalist David Lister, who was at the New York launch, reported in ''[[The Independent (London)|The Independent]]'' of London that "some of the biggest names in the art world have been the victims of a literary hoax", and the story was picked up by other newspapers, including ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name=NW98 /> He said that no one he spoke to claimed to know Tate well, but no one claimed not to have heard of him.  He said he sniffed something fishy, since he appeared to be the only person in the room who had never heard of Tate. His suspicions were confirmed when he discovered that none of the galleries mentioned in the book actually existed.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Indian Express]]|location=Bombay|date=1998-04-11|title=Work of fiction fools literary world|url=http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/19980411/10150314.html|accessdate=2007-05-19}}</ref> By January 2016, Lister had become ''[[The Independent]]''{{'}}s Arts Editor.<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Independent]]|location=London|date=15 January 2016|title=David Bowie: How I exposed the pop star's fake artist|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/david-bowie-how-i-exposed-the-pop-stars-fake-artist-a6814981.html|accessdate=16 January 2016}}</ref>

In reality, it appears that few were fooled and most of the big names in the arts world (including artists, collectors, art historian, art dealers, New York based writers like [[Paul Auster]], and editors of literary journals) quickly realized that Nat Tate was a complete fake and that they had been the victims of an elaborate setup.<ref name=NW98 /><ref name=BBC>{{cite news |publisher= BBC |title=Bowie and Boyd hoax art world |date= 1998-04-07 |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/75207.stm |accessdate= 2007-05-19}}</ref> Some of the paintings featured in the book were reportedly painted by Boyd and the hoax was made more believable by Gore Vidal's endorsement on the book's dust cover. Also, the photographs of Nat Tate that feature in the 'biography' are of unknown people from Boyd's own photographic collection.

Karen Wright, one of Bowie's co-directors at 21 Publishing, said the hoax was not meant to be malicious: "Part of it was, we were very amused that people kept saying 'Yes, I've heard of him.' There is a willingness not to appear foolish. Critics are too proud for that."<ref name=BBC /> Boyd, the main perpetrator of the hoax, agreed, saying "the doubts were meant to set in very quickly."<ref name=NW98 />

== Biography of "Nat Tate" ==
{{Infobox artist
| name          = Nat Tate (fictional character)
| image         =
| imagesize     =
| caption       =
| birth_name    = Nathwell Tate
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1928|3|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Union Beach, New Jersey]], USA
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1960|1|12|1928|3|7|mf=y}}
| death_place   = off [[Staten Island, New York]], USA
| nationality   = American
| field         = Painting
| training      =
| movement      =
| works         = Surviving works include:<br>''Portrait of K''<br>''Bridge no. 114''<br>''Bridge no. 122''<br>at least one un-numbered ''Bridge'' drawing
| patrons       =
| awards        =
}}
According to his inventor's fictitious biography, Nathwell "Nat" Tate was born "probably" in Union Beach, New Jersey on March 7, 1928.  His father, for whom he was named, deserted the family before Tate's birth.  From the age of 3, Tate, an only child, lived in [[Peconic, New York|Peconic]], [[Long Island]], New York, with his mother Mary, who worked as a kitchen maid for a wealthy family. Mary was killed in a traffic accident in February, 1936, shortly before Tate's eighth birthday, and Tate was subsequently adopted by the family with whom he and his mother had been living.

Always interested in painting and drawing, Tate studied painting with [[Hans Hofmann]] in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]] from 1947 until 1950, and began showing his work in exhibitions of [[abstract art]] in New York City in 1952.  His adoptive family supported Tate, paying for his lessons and also buying much of his artwork.  Tate became a respected, albeit minor, figure in the New York art scene, appreciated by his peers, if somewhat obscure to the general public.  A recurring motif in his works was the representation of bridges, which was partly inspired by his readings of the works of [[Hart Crane]].

An alcoholic, Tate became increasingly irrational towards the end of the decade.  After a trip to Europe in 1959, he became overwhelmed by the quality of art he saw there (especially that of [[Georges Braque]], whom Tate briefly visited). On his return to America, Tate insisted on borrowing or buying back his paintings from their owners, so he could "improve" them.  Apparently unhappy with his work, he then simply destroyed all of the paintings he reacquired—about 99% of his collected works, according to one estimate.  Emulating the death of Hart Crane, Tate committed suicide on January 12, 1960, by jumping off the Staten Island ferry.

== Later appearances ==
William Boyd included Nat Tate as a minor character in his novel ''[[Any Human Heart]]'', and in its TV adaptation.

In 2011, a painting by "Nat Tate" entitled ''Bridge no. 114'' was auctioned at [[Sotheby's]] in London.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cs96OkrfRvUJ:www.sothebys.com/en/ecat.pdf.L11142.html/f/214/L11142-214.pdf+sotheby's+nat+tate+catalogue&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESj8xuO8Ihrq2V6EPVOhVUyE_zhR-r7XxI2zX89TWtGWKRRlzp4NuoOpOHAohlj5oplegIsZ4pel0B8Lfdkd8ZnvZ0cGWjrmFuSUwnM1fAibJrryzr0JGpROmNILpjvfOpr716Sx&sig=AHIEtbTCO0dCI2AXHCM3mX0-7KARrjlLaw |title=Sothebys catalogue |publisher=Docs.google.com |date= |accessdate=2013-02-27}} {{Dead link|date=February 2013}}</ref> The winning bid for the painting (which was actually by William Boyd) was £7,250, well above the expected price, with the purchaser later revealed to be English television personality [[Anthony McPartlin]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/9051600/The-master-storyteller-William-Boyd-interview.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Mick | last=Brown | title=The master storyteller: William Boyd interview | date=4 February 2012}}</ref> The money was given to the [[Artists' General Benevolent Institution]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Maev Kennedy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2011/nov/16/nat-tate-painting-william-boyd|title=Painting by mythical artist Nat Tate sells for very real £7,250 at Sotheby's|work=The Guardian|date= 16 November 2011|accessdate=2013-02-27|location=London}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Sokal affair]]

== References ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Spoken Wikipedia en Nate Tate An American Artist 1928-1960.ogg|2016-01-03}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Source==
* {{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/12/art-david-bowie-william-boyd-nat-tate-editor-critic-modern-painters-publisher |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |title=William Boyd: how David Bowie and I hoaxed the art world |first=William |last=Boyd |authorlink=William Boyd (writer) |date=12 January 2016 |accessdate=12 January 2016 }}

== External links ==
* [http://www.21publishing.com/21pub/p8.html Official website (21 Publishing)]
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2012}}

{{William Boyd}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960}}
[[Category:1998 British novels]]
[[Category:Literary forgeries]]
[[Category:Nonexistent people used in hoaxes|Tate, Nat]]
[[Category:Novels by William Boyd]]