Archives for May 2014

If you follow my tweets @CultureGrrl, you already know that I attended yesterday's annual meeting at Sotheby's, which elevated activist investor Daniel Loeb from a thorn in Sotheby's side to its newly elected board member (joined on the board by his two hand-picked candidates---Harry Wilson, an expert in corporate restructurings and turnarounds and Olivier Reza, president of … [Read more...] about Rotter Chatter: How Sotheby’s, with Reconstituted Board, May Recharge Contemporary Art Sales

One of the first things I did last week while Lost Around Los Angeles was grant a phone interview to David Barnett, senior arts reporter and producer for ideastream, the Cleveland-based public broadcasting outlet. He wanted my views on a topic that I've frequently fulminated about---some museums' exploitation of their collections as cash cows by renting them for high fees to … [Read more...] about Caravaggio Viaggio: My Public Radio Chat on Museums’ Art Rentals with Tim Rub and Steve Litt (with audio)

I've just burrowed into my blog-cave after a week away in not-so-sunny California on a vacation that ended with a friend's wedding celebration. Although I didn't blog, I did (as promised) tweet some art-related musings @CultureGrrl. With my usual nose for news, I stumbled upon an interesting occurence (described below) while on an "unofficial" visit to the Los Angeles County … [Read more...] about Lost Around Los Angeles: My West Coast Twitter Report

UPDATE: It is, indeed, Griswold, who will start his new gig this fall. Here's the Cleveland Museum's official announcement. We'll find out tomorrow if I'm right, but what I've learned from a good (if not quite airtight) source is that the Cleveland Museum of Art is poised to name its new director tomorrow morning, and that he's none other than William Griswold, the … [Read more...] about Is It William Griswold? Cleveland Museum to Announce New Director Tomorrow UPDATED

Only by reverse-engineering the deal signed on Thursday by the Corcoran Gallery and college, the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University does the Corcoran's auction of its Clark "Sickle-Leaf" carpet, almost a year ago, start to make sense. Why would the financially floundering Corcoran have sold one of its great treasure for the stated purpose---to bankroll … [Read more...] about Pulling the Rug Out from Under the Corcoran and Disregarding William Corcoran’s Deed

Exactly an hour after the details were published in the Washington Post, this press release from the National Gallery of Art (NGA) hit my inbox, regarding the belated signing of the final agreements (originally slated for Apr. 7) for the planned merger by the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Corcoran College of Art + Design with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington … [Read more...] about Not a Done Deal: Court Approval Still Needed for Just-Signed Corcoran Agreement

With Sotheby's continuing to lag far behind arch-rival Christie's in the high-profile, high-stakes contemporary art field, I couldn't help but wonder if all the recent turmoil that has embroiled it---including the unceremonious departure of contemporary art head Tobias Meyer and culminating in the costly surrender to activist investor Dan Loeb's unwanted advances---may have … [Read more...] about Contemporary Sales: Aside from Sender’s “Ahead of the Curve,” Sotheby’s Remains Behind the Curve

In the mercenary world of art auctions, there are two new numbers to beat: $744.94 million, the highest total every achieved at any art auction; $11.9 million, the highest amount paid at auction for any woman artist. (Females are even more undervalued in the artworld than in the corporate world, it would seem.) Who was that record-breaking artist? Read on! Here's my Twitter … [Read more...] about Raising the Bar: Christie’s Landmark $744.94-Million Contemporary Sale

Yet another delay in the resolution of the never-ending legal battle over "Victorious Youth" (aka the Getty Bronze) occurred last week in Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation, which had been expected to rule May 8 on whether Italian law required the return of the statue from the J. Paul Getty Museum. As reported by Mike Boehm of the LA Times, a ruling on the case, … [Read more...] about When “a deal in Palermo isn’t a deal in Palermo”: Getty Trust’s Lawyer on Sicily’s Slippery Promises

If you can manage to focus on the dresses, the Metropolitan Museum's Charles James: Beyond Fashion, opening today (to Aug. 10), is a delicious visual feast. For me it triggered nostalgic thoughts of my own mother's '50s wardrobe. Not that she flounced around our fifth-floor Bronx walkup looking like Babe Paley. But I could perceive how James's flatteringly cut inventions in … [Read more...] about Metropolitan Museum’s “Charles James” in New Wintour Center: My Twitter Report on Fashion, Tech and the First Lady

"Do we want to bid?...Any more?...Any advance?...Last chance!...Passed." Variations on that doleful chant occurred again and again during tonight's sale at Sotheby's of Impressionist and modern art. This pulling-of-teeth made an already painful week at Sotheby's even worse. Aside from the dogged competition over Picasso's colorful, action-packed depiction of the seaside … [Read more...] about Impressionist/Modern Fizzle: Painful Sale Caps Sotheby’s Difficult Week UPDATED

In ending his war on Sotheby's management, Third Point's Daniel Loeb got even more than three board seats and key committee appointments that he had sought (reported by me here). He also extracted a written commitment from Sotheby's to reimburse Third Point for "up to $10 million" in "out-of-pocket, documented expenses," incurred in connection with the battle. That amount, … [Read more...] about Form 10-Q: More on Sotheby’s Loeb-Related Costs, Auction Guarantees, Possible Move

At a time when Sotheby's has been focused on cutting costs and improving its bottom line, it found itself committing what is expected to total as much as $15.7 million for legal and advisory professional services in connection with its losing battle against activist investor Daniel Loeb's Third Point. CLARIFICATION---Not discussed in the conference call, but revealed in the … [Read more...] about $15.7-Million Cost in Losing Battle with Loeb?!? My Live Tweets on Sotheby’s Earnings Call CLARIFIED

In coming to an agreement with Sotheby's after an acrimonious proxy battle, activist investor Daniel Loeb has gained more from the auction house than three seats on its board. Attached to the Amended General Statement of Beneficial Ownership that Sotheby's filed today with the SEC is the full agreement (starting on p. 12 of the document) between the auction firm and Daniel … [Read more...] about The Devil in the Details: More on Sotheby’s-Third Point Agreement

UPDATE: More on this, here. “If Sotheby’s thinks it can lose it, there’s going to be a settlement before the actual vote.” former activist investor Asher Edelman, told Philip Boroff of Artnet (formerly of Bloomberg) back in February, regarding the acrimonious proxy contest between the auction house and Dan Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point. With this morning's announcement, … [Read more...] about After Hurling Insults, Sotheby’s and Third Point’s Loeb Try to Kiss & Make Up (with video)