Larry Gagosian may well be the biggest art dealer in the history of the world. How did he amass such influence, and what impact has it had on the art world?
Serial commissions became common for Gagosian as more and more wealthy people started to regard art as a category of investment. He maintained a small club of extremely affluent collectors who repeatedly mixed up their asset allocations—trading among themselves, through him. In 2003, Steve Cohen bought a Jackson Pollock drip painting from Geffen for fifty million dollars. Three years later, Gagosian asked Geffen if he’d ever sell a de Kooning he owned, “Woman III.
By conjuring an atmosphere of unpredictability and intrigue, Gagosian imbues the dealing process with excitement—and creates a sense that when an opportunity finally presents itself you must seize it immediately, and at any cost. J. Tomilson Hill, who is a major collector, told me that when he started buying from Gagosian, in the nineties, he would go to the gallery and, in a private room reserved for V.I.P.s, spot something new on the wall.
An art-world source told me about a conversation he once had with Si Newhouse, in which Newhouse indicated he’d heard that the owner of a particularly coveted Robert Rauschenberg painting was willing to sell it for about thirty-two million dollars. The source, who was aware of the Rauschenberg’s availability, gently corrected Newhouse: the real price was closer to twenty-five million. “No,” Newhouse insisted. “It’s definitely thirty-two.
Litigation occasionally offers a glimpse of the shadowy backroom aspects of the trade. In the nineties, the billionaire financier Ronald Perelman became a friend and client of Gagosian’s. They vacationed together and invested in an East Hampton restaurant, Blue Parrot. Over time, Perelman bought approximately two hundred pieces of art from Gagosian and, he has said, came to think of him as a “trusted art adviser.” Then they went to war.
That description may seem shady, but it’s also an apt characterization of what an art dealer does. Stefania Bortolami, who worked for Gagosian for several years and now runs her own gallery, in Tribeca, told me about a Lichtenstein she once handled for him. When the gallery was trying to acquire the painting, Gagosian disparaged it, saying, “It was a good year, but this is one of the worst I’ve seen.
“We’ve patched things up,” Gagosian told me, with an air of regal magnanimity. “In the last couple of years,” he continued, twisting the knife, “he’s been quiteto sell . . . which I’m sure you’ve read about.” According to Gagosian, they have since done “a lot of business.” He added, “I like Ronald—he’s an acquired taste, some people might say, but I always liked the guy.”
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