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New York art dealer sues over Picasso sculpture that may have been sold twice New York art dealer sues over Picasso sculpture that may have been sold twice
(35 minutes later)
Was Pablo Picasso’s sculpture of his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter so good they sold it twice?Was Pablo Picasso’s sculpture of his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter so good they sold it twice?
In a legal action filed on Tuesday morning in the US district court in Manhattan, über-art dealer Larry Gagosian filed suit against agents of the Qatari royal family over the ownership of Bust of a Woman, a plaster bust of Picasso’s muse-slash-mistress currently on display in a popular exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.In a legal action filed on Tuesday morning in the US district court in Manhattan, über-art dealer Larry Gagosian filed suit against agents of the Qatari royal family over the ownership of Bust of a Woman, a plaster bust of Picasso’s muse-slash-mistress currently on display in a popular exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.
According to court documents, Gagosian asserts that he purchased the sculpture for $106m in May of last year from Maya Widmaier-Picasso, the 80-year-old daughter of Walter and the celebrated Spanish artist, and sold it in turn to an unnamed New York art collector.According to court documents, Gagosian asserts that he purchased the sculpture for $106m in May of last year from Maya Widmaier-Picasso, the 80-year-old daughter of Walter and the celebrated Spanish artist, and sold it in turn to an unnamed New York art collector.
But according to filings submitted by Pelham Holdings, the New York-based trading company that represents the Qatari royal family, the bust was purchased in November 2014 by Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz al-Thani for a comparatively paltry €38m (roughly $47.6m at the time).But according to filings submitted by Pelham Holdings, the New York-based trading company that represents the Qatari royal family, the bust was purchased in November 2014 by Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz al-Thani for a comparatively paltry €38m (roughly $47.6m at the time).
“We have the highest respect for Sheik al-Thani, a longtime friend of the Gallery, and regret that he has been unfairly drawn into this matter,” said Larry Gagosian in a statement to the Guardian.
Gagosian’s suit appears to be a response to a motion filed last November by Pelham’s European division seeking document discovery and testimonials “relating to a purported sale” from Gagosian, from his eponymous gallery and from Diana Widmaier-Picasso, daughter of Maya Widmaier-Picasso, the sculpture’s original owner.Gagosian’s suit appears to be a response to a motion filed last November by Pelham’s European division seeking document discovery and testimonials “relating to a purported sale” from Gagosian, from his eponymous gallery and from Diana Widmaier-Picasso, daughter of Maya Widmaier-Picasso, the sculpture’s original owner.
According to the 13 November filing, obtained by the Guardian, “Pelham made two out of three scheduled payments and was prepared to make the third when [Maya] Widmaier-Picasso repudiated the contract and refused to deliver the sculpture to Pelham, as promised. Instead, she and perhaps her daughter Diana Widmaier-Picasso have taken actions apparently designed to prevent Pelham from obtaining specific performance of the sale agreement.”According to the 13 November filing, obtained by the Guardian, “Pelham made two out of three scheduled payments and was prepared to make the third when [Maya] Widmaier-Picasso repudiated the contract and refused to deliver the sculpture to Pelham, as promised. Instead, she and perhaps her daughter Diana Widmaier-Picasso have taken actions apparently designed to prevent Pelham from obtaining specific performance of the sale agreement.”
The filing also alleges that Sabine Cordesse, Widmaier-Picasso’s attorney, subsequently “provided vague, shifting and inconsistent statements” about Widmaier-Picasso’s actions and the ownership status of the sculpture. “She may or may not have purported to sell it,” the filing states. “She may have purported to sell it to Gagosian; she may have purported to consign it to Gagosian for sale to a third party.”The filing also alleges that Sabine Cordesse, Widmaier-Picasso’s attorney, subsequently “provided vague, shifting and inconsistent statements” about Widmaier-Picasso’s actions and the ownership status of the sculpture. “She may or may not have purported to sell it,” the filing states. “She may have purported to sell it to Gagosian; she may have purported to consign it to Gagosian for sale to a third party.”
Cordesse, according to the filing, wrote letters alleging that Widmaier-Picasso “lacked the mental capacity” to enter into a sale of the sculpture.Cordesse, according to the filing, wrote letters alleging that Widmaier-Picasso “lacked the mental capacity” to enter into a sale of the sculpture.
Gagosian lost the proceedings, and received an order on Christmas Eve to begin producing documents and submitting depositions by April of this year. The American gallerist, who climbed from selling $15 posters in 1970s Los Angeles to being dubbed “king of the art world” by the Economist, filed suit in a bid to slow down those discovery proceedings, requesting that Judge Gregory Woods “quiet” any challenges or claims to the ownership of the sculpture.Gagosian lost the proceedings, and received an order on Christmas Eve to begin producing documents and submitting depositions by April of this year. The American gallerist, who climbed from selling $15 posters in 1970s Los Angeles to being dubbed “king of the art world” by the Economist, filed suit in a bid to slow down those discovery proceedings, requesting that Judge Gregory Woods “quiet” any challenges or claims to the ownership of the sculpture.
“We filed an action for declaratory judgment to quiet title because we bought and sold the sculpture in good faith without knowledge of the alleged claim,” the Gagosian Gallery said in a statement issued to the Guardian. “We are entirely confident that our purchase and sale are valid and that Pelham has no rights to the work.”
The stakes of the lawsuit are stratospherically high: Picasso’s total art sales reached $652m in 2015, according to Artnet, making him the best-selling fine artist in the world. In May, Picasso’s painting Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O) sold at auction for a record $179.4m, a record that the auctioneer posited may last for a decade.The stakes of the lawsuit are stratospherically high: Picasso’s total art sales reached $652m in 2015, according to Artnet, making him the best-selling fine artist in the world. In May, Picasso’s painting Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O) sold at auction for a record $179.4m, a record that the auctioneer posited may last for a decade.
The reported buyer? Former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, another member of the royal family.The reported buyer? Former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, another member of the royal family.