Today there appeared on the front page of the New York Times an article, “Valuable as Art, but Priceless as a Tool to Launder Money” (click to read). About a month ago we sent out a commentary, “The Raid: A Highly Regulated Art Market in Sight,” (click to read) with a N.Y. Times article attached, [...]
TODAY’S raid by Federal agents on the Nahmad Gallery should be viewed as a small part of the puzzle leading to heavy regulatory controls on the entirety of the art industry. Art and art-related transactions have remained relatively untouched by either Federal or local governments. The raid on Nahmad Gallery is the first significant step in what [...]
Yes, it’s been too long, in my view at least, since I’ve last put a pen to paper, so: ArtAssure Ltd. News Moss: Dialogues Between Art & Design, the auction organized , curated, and executed by Murray Moss and ArtAssure was a resounding success. With all results in and counted the sales rate by value [...]
Asher Edelman can be described as standing, prominently, between 2 worlds. His Wall Street career, beginning in the 1960′s, in investment banking, money management and derivatives trading not only brought renown but enabled him to build significant collections of contemporary and Modern art as well as antiquities. In the same year, 1988, that he famously taught [...]
The May auction performances gleaned countless viewers, gawkers, critics and some buyers; indeed a sufficient number of buyers to drive the prices of a small number of pictures to new records. The rotation within the small pyramid at the top continued. Munch entered, a Viking. Prince exited, a bad joke too many. Basquiat trumped Hirst. [...]
Unwrapping the paintings for our “Abstraction” exhibition, I had a shock or at least a wonderful surprise. I called to my associates and said, “Wow, who of you managed to get this de Kooning ‘Landscape’ painting?” The answer: “We have no de Kooning ‘Landscape’ painting for the show. That is a Mary Abbott.” Circa 1950-1951, [...]
YEA! Yea for Europe (we hope)! On October 27 the European community announced the “solution” to sovereign debt and European banking. Some issues were left a bit unclear such as: 1) Does the “voluntary” default constitute a default especially as to credit swaps? That issue will determine which banks fail first, though the intent is [...]
Of Wars and Culture How Corporate Raider Asher Edelman became an art dealer and financier If a notorious corporate raider becomes an art dealer and financier, it indicates a metamorphosis, maybe even a catharsis: Someone has renounced the world of filthy lucre, stock markets and power and dedicates his life to beauty, the true and [...]
The Art World’s Gordon Gekko A former corporate raider is shaking up the market with brash tactics and big plans Just before the country’s most prestigious art fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, opened in December, an energetic 70-year-old man named Asher Edelman marched through the local convention center to the booth of a Zurich gallery. [...]
Art comes of age as an investment for the wealthy International businessman Nicolas Berggruen, the son of a famous art dealer, saw a rare opportunity to expand his father’s renowned Picasso collection during an auction this month, but he was left empty-handed. Fierce bidding at the New York sale may have sparked a degree of [...]
