David Yarrow on Art, Markets, Business, and Combining It All (#443)
“I must never again put myself in a position where my work ethic can be undone by things totally beyond my control.” — David Yarrow
In his genre, David Yarrow (@davidyarrow) is one of the world’s best-selling fine art photographers. Most recently, he has focused on capturing the animal and human worlds in fresh and creative ways, with philanthropy and conservation central to this drive. In 2019, charitable donations from the sale of David’s images exceeded $2.5 million.
David’s photography of life on earth has earned him a large and ever-growing following among art collectors, and he is now represented by some of the top contemporary fine art galleries around the world. In the last two years, three of Yarrow’s works have sold for more than $100,000 at Sotheby’s auctions in London and New York, and UBS has appointed David as its global ambassador.
In this conversation, we’ll talk about his photography but also touch on how his double life as a hedge fund manager informed his art.
You can buy David’s #1 best-selling book with a $50 discount and a one-year free subscription to his new quarterly photographic journal at davidyarrow.photography/Tim.
Please enjoy!
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#443: David Yarrow on Art, Markets, Business, and Combining It All
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What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…
Want to hear an episode with another photographer who approached art from the world of finance? — Listen to my conversation with Humans of New York’s very own Brandon Stanton in which we discuss biographies as history, a history major’s philosophical take on the stock market, obsession, striving for improvement, and much more.
#321: Brandon Stanton – The Story of Humans of New York and 25M+ Fanshttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/3fd5315a-966f-4a6c-82a8-0303a51e1b26.mp3Download
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Connect with David Yarrow:
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico | FIFA
The University of Edinburgh
National Football League (NFL)
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
Bungs, Babes and Rocket-Propelled Grenades — Two Weeks That Rocked FIFA and Changed the Face of Football | The Telegraph
The Mexico City Earthquake, 30 Years On: Have Its Lessons Been Forgotten? | The Guardian
The Times
What Is A Follow Focus? | Shutter Muse
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City | The Stadium Guide
The Apocryphal Twain: “The Two Most Important Days of Your Life…” | Center for Mark Twain Studies
Maradona, Mexico 1986 | David Yarrow Photography
Diego Maradona | Prime Video
Senna | Prime Video
Amy | Prime Video
Tango World Championships, Buenos Aires | Tim Ferris
Boca Juniors
Diego Maradona: Napoli’s Patron Saint and Champion | Goal
Your First 10,000 Photographs May Include Some of Your Best | PetaPixel
Upcoming Events: Casterline Goodman, Aspen | David Yarrow Photography
Why Kitzbühel is Skiing’s Wildest Ride | CNN
The White Cliffs of Dover | National Trust
Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics | IOC
Eddie the Eagle | Prime Video
Stern
Getty Images
NatWest Online
Wall Street | Prime Video
How the Big Bang Changed the City of London Forever | BBC News
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar
Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
Salomon Brothers | Investopedia
Downton Abbey | Prime Video
Yarrow Shipbuilders | Wikipedia
Barbarians at the Gate (Film)
The Wolf Of Wall Street | Prime Video
Mark Haines on September 11, 2001 | CNBC
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Bear Stearns | Wikipedia
Scottish Banking History | CSCB
Bollocks | Merriam-Webster
The Real Reason Fairfield Greenwich Group Blew $7.5 Billion On Madoff | Business Insider
What is Difference Between Endogeneous and Exogeneous Variables? | ResearchGate
Paul Tudor Jones: Documentary of Trading and Life | Investors Journal
Humans of New York
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Events as They Happen | WHO
Paul Tudor Jones: Stocks Could Retest Lows as Coronavirus Peaks, Followed by a Rally | CNBC
Where Are Africa’s Billions? | Transparency.org
Why Trump Can’t Stop His Coronavirus Briefings | The Atlantic
Tom Ford
Federal Reserve Board
Greenock’s Titanic Links | Greenock Telegraph
Tiger Management | Wikipedia
More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite by Sebastian Mallaby
The Tiger Cub Hedge Funds Are Killing It Once Again. 20 Yrs after Tiger Management Folded, Its Mystique Endures. | WhaleWisdom Alpha
Armageddon | Prime Video
Jaws | Prime Video
Jaws | David Yarrow, Facebook
Where Are South Africa’s Great White Sharks? | Mongabay
Simon’s Town | A Visitors Guide
Harbour Lights Restaurant | Kalk Bay
Jerry Maguire | Prime Video
Forrest Gump | Prime Video
Wimbledon
Earth Song (Official Video) | Michael Jackson
ABBA
Amboseli & Tsavo National Park Holidays | Africa Travel
FIGJAM | Wikipedia
The Crown | Netflix
Dallas Cowboys
Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling
Love Actually | Prime Video
Palm Beach | FL
Aspen | CO
Arthur Roger Gallery | New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)
2020 Masters Tournament
LIK Fine Art
Breaking Bad | Prime Video
Marfa | TX
Montana’s Official State Website
Ghost Towns and History of the American West
Big Bend National Park | US National Park Service
Game of Thrones | Prime Video
How We Must Respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic | Bill Gates, TED
Wisconsin Badgers
Bridge of Spies | Prime Video
SHOW NOTES
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Timestamps will be added shortly.
Why is it smart to only publish heavy books in Scotland, and what happened to David in Mexico in 1986?
How did David’s lucky experience of shooting what turned out to be an iconic photo of Argentine football demigod Diego Maradona set him on a path of self-improvement, and where did he go from there?
What David took away from shooting the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
Keeping an uncertain eye to the future with nary an artistic role model in his field of vision, what made David decide to accept a job that delighted his parents?
David talks about his relationship with his father and a conversation they had that he’ll never forget.
What did David learn in banking that informed his later exploration of photography?
Where was David on 9/11, and how did its aftermath affect his life over the months that followed?
How did the downfall of Bernie Madoff lead to David’s own exit from the glamorous world of finance?
The difference between selling hedge funds and pictures of elephants.
As someone who once made a living speculating, what did David foresee for the world in the months to come when we recorded this back in March of 2020 — just as COVID-19 was beginning to be taken seriously in the US?
Thoughts on Paul Tudor Jones’ observations and predictions about the market at this point in time, and why David is relieved he’s not handling other people’s investments right now.
On the connection between Steven Spielberg, a breaching South African great white shark that almost made David give up photography as a career, and a Texan attorney who made it worth his while.
David used to sell photos in the London Underground for £20, and his claim to fame was the time he got spat on by John McEnroe at Wimbledon.
How professional photography is more collegiate and cooperative than a zero-sum game that others need to fail in order for you to succeed (and vice versa).
What does David mean when he says he’s using “the wholesale market” to sell his art? What are the terms, benefits, and costs that can be expected?
How did Dallas come to be David’s “number two” market? What challenges exist in some markets that make others more viable to an artist like David?
How did David come to be represented by a gatekeeper who had rejected him five times before, and what can you learn in a resort town?
Is Palm Beach an important market for revenue to David, or is it important symbolically? What about the rest of the US?
FIGJAM versus third-party affirmation.
Why David believes Breaking Bad should be studied by visual artists as well as economics/business students.
On the value of being tougher on yourself.
What is David’s fascination with the Netflix business model, Montana, and ghost towns?
David is known for collaborating with others — often celebrities. How did he land his first celebrity collaboration, and what has his experience been like working with celebrities since?
Parting thoughts.
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Alex Ferguson
Mark Twain
Diego Maradona
Asif Kapadia
Ayrton Senna
Amy Winehouse
Jesus Christ
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Rob Boyd
Steve Podborski
Ken Read
Bill Johnson
Katarina Witt
Eddie the Eagle
Eric Yarrow
Gordon Gekko
Bud Fox
Oliver Stone
Michael Lewis
Jordan Belfort
Icarus
Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Bernie Madoff
Paul Tudor Jones
Brandon Stanton
Chase Jarvis
Julian Robertson
Tom Ford
Errol Flynn
Martin Scorsese
Steven Spielberg
Vince Vaughn
Tom Hanks
Cameron Crowe
Tom Cruise
John McEnroe
Coco Gauff
Jimmy Connors
Vitas Gerulaitis
Nick Brandt
Michael Jackson
Peter Beard
Andy Warhol
Pablo Picasso
Jean-Michel Basquiat
George W. Bush
Theodore Roosevelt
Troy Aikman
J.K. Rowling
Arthur Roger
Peter Lik
John F. Kennedy
John Ford
Cindy Crawford
Charles Manson
Bill Gates
Edward Norton
Jamie Foxx
Jennifer Garner
Mark Rylance
