Oligarch buys expensive art (ctd.)
June 2 2016
Picture: AMM
The legal wranglings between a Russian oligarch and his sometime art agent continue, this time with wider ramifications for the art market. Dmitry Rybolovlev (above) bought a large number of artworks through Yves Bouvier, whose main business was running art 'freeports' around the world. Mr Rybolovlev says that Mr. Bouvier overcharged him and took more commission than they agreed, and to that effect has apparently secured from Sotheby's agreement that they will provide information on some of the works sourced through them, which included the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo.
I presume this means the figures involved will also be revealed, so the scale of Mr. Bouvier's margins can be discovered. A side effect might be to also shed light on the commissions charged by the big auction houses in such transactions - which generally are structured in a very different way to auctions, where all the commissions and charges are listed clearly in sale contracts and catalogues. Part of the attraction of private treaty sales through auction houses is the fact that prices and transactions remain confidential - so having that information made public might not be a happy precedent for some.
More here on Art Market Monitor. For greater background on the case see here.
Update - AHN has kindly been contacted to say that the:
[...] hearing that took place this past Tuesday in New York only granted discovery from Sotheby’s pertaining to two Picassos – “Femme se Coiffant” and “Espagnole à l’Éventail.” The decision regarding further discovery has been delayed and Sotheby’s will only produce documents as ordered by the court.
