Art dealers

From punk pioneer to major market player: 40 years of Maureen Paley gallery

Paley's operations have grown from a derelict London house to three spaces across the UK—but her risk-taking, collaborative nature remains the same

Four ex-staffers say Nino Mier Gallery underpaid multiple artists and pocketed the difference

A series of documents from 2018-19, seen by The Art Newspaper, shows that five artists on the dealer’s roster were shortchanged by as much as 54% on some sales

Michael Werner Gallery to open Los Angeles branch in May

The inaugural exhibition will feature the unlikely pairing of works by Markus Lüpertz and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

Divisive Los Angeles dealer Stefan Simchowitz runs for US Senate

Once dubbed “the art world’s patron satan”, the gallerist is hoping to take the Californian seat formerly held by the late Dianne Feinstein

Booksreview

Behind the curtain: new book sparks debate about how women gallerists promoted avant-garde art

This important study analyses how female dealers from 1940 to 1990 worked to advance artists but questions on gender go unanswered

Why are ever more artists ditching dealers?

From the emerging to the blue-chip, artists are trading gallery representation for agents or outright autonomy

Art marketanalysis

When dealers go bust, what happens to the art they hold?

Establishing ownership and value of works can be a complicated business, as recent legal cases have shown

Art dealersinterview

Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg and a path to mega-success

The Austrian dealer, who is celebrating his Salzburg gallery’s 40th anniversary, discusses formative influences, the weight of history and the importance of truth in art

Crime news

Cold case murder victim identified as Russian art dealer Aleksandr Levin

Torso was found in Amsterdam river in 2013, but DNA testing was only carried out in 2021

Recent UK High Court rulings raise questions over dealers’ duty of care towards clients

Two cases involving respected London dealers John Eskenazi and Simon Dickinson brought up issues of negligence and authenticity with differing results

Suspected Old Master forger Giuliano Ruffini is arrested in Italy after turning himself in

The 77-year-old, wanted by French police for "fraud, money laundering and forgery of works of art", was released after ten days in custody

‘Pay-to-play’ galleries—which charge artists thousands to exhibit—are on the rise

By asking for participation fees upfront, art businesses are hedging their bets against poor sales—but how ethical is this practice?

British art dealer Robert Newland pleads guilty to conspiring with Inigo Philbrick to defraud collectors and financiers

Newland was arrested in the UK in February and extradited to the United States in September, where he admitted his role in the $86m scheme for which Inigo Philbrick was sentenced to seven years in prison

Art marketanalysis

How do you place a price tag on art in an age of perpetual crisis?

Figures are going beserk for work that looks good on Instagram—but the market struggles to find the same fervour for conceptually ambitious, politically engaged art

Booksreview

Pioneering Parisian dealer Berthe Weill, who gave Modigliani his only show, is brought back to life in a new book

The first English translation of Weill’s 1933 memoir reveals a powerhouse of the Modern art world

Confessions of a dealer: Sibylle Friche

We talk to the Chicago-based dealer and director of Document about what keeps her up at night, the spa at the Standard Hotel and dream jobs in the south of France

Confessions of a dealer: Stefan von Bartha

We talk to the Swiss dealer about his love of Argentinian art movements, a culinary catastrophe and why he wants the world to know about Felipe Mujica

Former dealer Angela Gulbenkian is sentenced to three and a half years for defrauding art clients

Charges involved sale of a £1.1m Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture that was never delivered and the theft of £50,000 that a friend had given her to invest

'An opportunity for bargain hunters' or a waste of time? Italy relaxes stringent export laws for Old Masters and antiques worth less than €13,500

Lower-value older works and those by artists who died less than 50 years ago no longer need an export licence to leave the country—but the process can still be slow

Poacher turned gamekeeper? Stefan Simchowitz opens Los Angeles gallery

“I support so many artists and I’d like to provide exhibition opportunities for them,” says the controversial dealer and art advisor

Brexitnews

As a Brexit deal is agreed, confused and resigned UK art world ponders life after leaving the European Union

Art dealers, shippers and auctioneers are unsure about how leaving the single market will impact their business—but there is a silver lining

Johnny Eskenazi: from wannabe theatre director to leading Eastern art dealer who rescued stolen Afghan ivories

Top Indian sculpture dealer warns against a too rigid interpretation of the 1970 Unesco Convention

Nazi-looted Dutch Old Master to be auctioned in settlement between heir and current holder

The Golden Age work by Aelbert Cuyp was looted from Jacques Goudstikker and acquired by Hermann Göring

Forrest Fenn, known for burying $2m worth of treasure in the Rocky Mountains, dies at 90

The controversial yet colourful Santa Fe-based art and antiquities dealer announced that his treasure had been found shortly before his death

Art marketcomment

We need to talk about guarantees. And art loans

Dealers who finance deals by taking out loans against art may well find themselves in difficulty because of the Covid-19 pandemic

Unknown Dürer drawing to be sold by London dealer

One of very few examples in private hands, the work from an American collection is coming to the market via Agnews

Art dealersinterview

In person | Dealer Susanne Vielmetter on the decline of artist exclusivity and the empty talk around gender parity

The Los Angeles gallery owner explains why she encourages her artists to have galleries in Europe and New York too, and how collaboration is key

Art marketinterview

In person | Dealer Daniella Luxembourg on taste-making and being stubborn

The gallery owner and art world grande dame explains why the big art fairs are not for her