Art Market Crises: A Crooked Art Dealer and Angry Art Collector

Lawrence B. Salander in Court, Via New York Times

Weeding my way through recent art news I hit on two stories of interest. One involves a crooked art dealer and the other involves an angry art collector. Both stories are being hailed as examples of the collapse of the art market as we know. Oddly enough, in both situations the state of the economy has received some of the blame-- or is acknowledged for having opened the window for outsiders to view the deceit.

The art dealer, Lawrence B. Salander, was arrested in late March after being accused of stealing over $88 million from several art owners, investors, and Bank of America. Salander has been charged with grand larceny, forgery, falsifying business records, scheming to defraud, and perjury. Needless to say, the once prominent art dealer has pleaded not guilty. Salander faces up to 25 years in prison and his bail is set at $1 million.

My guess is that Salander will not be dealing in art anytime soon-- especially since his Salander-O’ Reilly Galleries is now bankrupt. This is the type of art dealer that gives all art dealers a bad name.

Links of Interest:
Salander Charged with Stealing $88 million [Artforum]
Times Topics:Lawrence B. Salander [New York Times]

Art Dealer is Charged with Stealing $88 Million [New York Times]

Francis Bacon, Study for a Self-Portrait, 1964, Via Rawartint

The art collector, George Weiss, is furious with high-profile auction house Christie’s. Weiss filed a lawsuit against Christie’s due to the fact that the auction house was unable to sell a self-portrait by Francis Bacon owned by Weiss. Christie’s had offered Weiss a minimum guarantee that the Bacon would sell. Unfortunately, the auction house failed to follow through after Weiss consigned the work. Christie’s has noted the turmoil of the art market in their defense. When all else fails-- blame the economy.

Links of Interest:
Christie’s Sued For $40M Over Francis Bacon Painting [Wall Street Journal]

Christie’s Auction House Sued Over Francis Bacon Guarantee [Bloomberg]

Christie’s Is Sued After Francis Bacon Painting Fails to Sell [New York Times]

The economic crises has fueled an already chaotic art world. In New York City there has been a betting game going on amongst gallery staff concerning which gallery will close next. Artists are have been forced to move to less expensive studios. Materials are becoming more pricey. Art museums are cutting staff and benefits. From that woodwork the roaches of the art market will surely be exposed-- and stomped upon.

Take care, Stay true,

Brian Sherwin

Senior Editor

myartspace.com

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Good News for Arts in Economic Recovery Bill

Yes We Can! Good news from Americans for The Arts. On Feb, 07, I posted an appeal at ArtLOOK regarding support for the arts in the Economic Recovery Bill. As some of you may know, the Coburn Amendment attempted to ban certain arts groups from receiving economic funding under the Economic Recovery Bill. I'm happy to report that via a press release (Feb 13, 2009) from Americans in the Arts, the U.S. House of Representatives approved their final version of the Economic Recovery bill by a vote of 246-183. Americans for the Arts has confirmed that the package now includes $50 million in direct support for arts jobs through National Endowment for the Arts grants.

This is an important victory for all of you as arts advocates. More than 85,000 letters were sent to Congress, thousands of calls were made, and hundreds of op-eds, letters to the editor, news stories, and blog entries were generated in print and online media about the role of the arts in the economy. Artists, business leaders, mayors, governors, and a full range of national, state, and local arts groups all united together on this advocacy issue. This outcome marks a stunning turnaround of events and exemplifies the power of grassroots arts advocacy.

To read more about this visit ArtLOOK or Americans for the Arts.