It was with his first solo show, at the Mary Boone Gallery in 1979 […] that Schnabel would truly come to be regarded as a major new force in the art world. Critical response to the exhibition was as boisterous as it was divided. But what was beyond doubt was the vibrancy that Schnabel brought to the art scene. Beyond [aesthetic value of his] work, there was also the figure of Julian Schnabel himself. With a booming stock market driving up prices for contemporary art to unprecedented levels, artists were being transformed into a new kind of media star. Schnabel, brash and outspoken, reviled and adored, came to epitomize this resurgence of American art as part of popular culture. Taken from Artfacts.net