« Site update | Main | Magritte and pals at LACMA »
January 19, 2007
Armory Show: A second bidder?
UPDATED, 535pm EST. Today's Ottawa Citizen has yet another story linking Louise T. MacBain to the apparently-for-sale Armory Show. The confusing part about this rumor: MacBain already owns a lot of art magazines that definitely aren't tops in their sector (as if being at the top of the art mag sector was worth a hill of beans), why would she want another runner-up?
This makes more sense: MAN hears that Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., owner of ArtChicago, is pursuing The Armory Show. A second source said the deal was nearly complete. (UPDATE: An MMPI spokesperson refused to comment.) MMPI operates many trade shows and consumer events, such as the Architectural Digest Home Design Show. It's easy to imagine why the Armory Show might be a valuable property for MMPI: Galleries that want into Armory, the No. 2 contemporary art fair in the US but $trategically positioned in the world's No. 1 art market, are likely to curry favor with the fair's owners by signing up for ArtChicago, the No. 3 U.S. contemporary fair.
Another reason this kind of deal would make sense: MMPI, whose parent Vornado Realty Trust is based in NYC, owns a 450,000 square-foot facility at 7 West 34th Street -- and there's only one trade show on the facility's calendar between Feb. 17 and April 20. The Armory Show, which desparately needs a facilities upgrade, could be slotted in to the 7W New York space.
Posted January 19, 2007 3:40 PM
