“A highly readable narrative . . .” — Feminist Art Books Bulletin
“[C]ontain[s] a good deal of interesting material on culture formation and about matters of gender, class, and the patronage of Indian art.” — Richard W. Etulain , American Historical Review
“[F]ascinating and illuminating . . . .” — Dan Moos , Western Historical Quarterly
“Reader-friendly. Anyone interested in Santa Fe history, Indian art, or women’s studies will find Culture in the Marketplace a fascinating book.” — Gretchen Garner , Santa Fe New Mexican
“[T]he book covers much varied ground and offers a coherent set of ideas, and it does so with verve and well-documented rigor. . . . [I]t is written in a clean, clear style. Finally, the publisher has served the project well: the ten aptly chosen, nicely reproduced illustrations are pointedly placed, and the “Indian” design motifs that open each chapter please the eye.” — Mick Gidley , Journal of American History
"[E]ngaging. . . . [A] detailed, feminist sociology with much original research and extensive cross-reference to the literature and social concerns of the era." — Margaret Dubin , Visual Anthropology Review
"[T]his ambitious work places Native American arts patronage within the context and literature of gender, materialism, identity and politics in new and unexpected ways." — Nancy Marie Mithlo , Museum Anthropology
"[This book's] historical significance is obvious, the characters are fascinating and committed to their 'cause,' and their tireless efforts served to promote a positive resolution to the problems they perceived among Native Americans. In blending consumerism and anthropology at the heart of the book, Mullin illustrates the concept of shopping to express a national identity. Whether buyers understand either what or who produced the art that is purchased is still a question." — Corie Delashaw, Red River Valley Historical Journal
"Molly H. Mullin provides readers with a unique, interesting, and engaging look at the world of art patronage, cultural production, and taste-making in the American Southwest. . . . [F]ascinating. . . . [T]hought-provoking." — Erika Bsumek , New Mexico Historical Review
"Mullin’s volume is a fine and important work. . . . [S]he has done in-depth research, reading the fiction, memoirs, and journalistic writings the women produced. Culture in the Marketplace brings to light the vital roles played by women in the development of art patronage in the Southwest. . . ." — Joyce M. Szabo , Woman's Art Journal
"Mullin's study of the Indian art market is especially valuable for braiding the past with the present and for integrating her own complex and ambiguous responses." — Tom Lynch, American Literary History
"This book should be read critically and widely for students interested in value and art markets. By drawing upon the little-known experiences of elite women who moved to the Southwest, Mullin effectively demonstrates the changing taste, value, and evaluation of artistic consumption based upon the processes of market and historical transformation in New Mexico from the early twentieth century to the present day."
— Matthew J. Martinez , American Indian Culture and Research Journal
“Mullin makes a real contribution by exploring the dynamics of identity and social relations on the one side and knowledge and consumption on the other in her case study of the affluent women who influenced the direction and caste of the Indian art market.” — Charles McGovern, National Museum of American History
“This excellent and interesting work contributes to the question of how discourses about ‘art’ and ‘art-making’ circulate broadly within society. With subtlety and care Mullin traces out how ‘Indian arts’ and the Southwest come to have distinctive meanings within the context of American culture and its historical situation. It is a model of what an anthropology that links political economy, gender, and interpretation can and should do.” — Fred Myers, coeditor of The Traffic in Culture: Refiguring Art and Anthropology