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Thursday, September 4th, 2008 | 4 Comments
Halsey Minor’s Art Market Adventures
News of Sotheby’s Lawsuit Brings Up Bad Memories
Today’s news in Bloomberg, The Daily News and the NY Post of Sotheby’s lawsuit against Halsey Minor, the serial entrepreneur best known for CNET.com which was sold to CBS for nearly $2 billion earlier this year, reveals several pieces of information. First that Minor bought Edward Hicks’s “Peaceable Kingdom” and Childe Hassam’s “Paris, Winter Day” (pictured) even if he refuses to pay for them.
Second, even though Minor claims the dispute is over Sotheby’s disclosure of an ownership intererst in the Hicks, the conflict will remind some art market watchers that Minor has a history in the market for American paintings. This is not the first time his buying has ended in frustrations. Here’s Carol Vogel’s story from November 2002 about Minor’s sale of American Modern works at a loss. Minor had been using the art as an ATM by running up $16 million in loans and eventually selling some works for a $10 million loss and setting himself up for further pain. [Update: Minor contacted Art Market Monitor to make it clear that he did not sell these works because of debt as the article suggests.]
But Minor didn’t see it as pain at the time. Here’s what he told Vogel:
”I like art, but I’ve always looked at it as an investment,” Mr. Minor said in a recent telephone interview. ”When the CNET stock was at $35 to $55 a share, I decided to buy physical assets like art and real estate. Now the stock is at $3.50. I wish the art was worth the same as it was when I paid for it, but I still think I came out ahead. When I look at people who kept all their money in the market, I thank my lucky stars.”
Inside Art: The Americans, At Lower Prices (The New York Times)
Sotheby’s Sues Cnet Founder for $16.8 Million in Fees (Bloomberg)
Also of Interest:
- What Does Halsey Minor Want? (Corrected)
Update: Donn Zaretsky at TheArtLawBlog tells us the suit was filed in February–and we’d trust Donn on the matter–which makes... - Halsey Minor Responds
Halsey Minor Tells the NY Times His Side of the Story Today’s New York Times covers the dispute over Edward... - Halsey Minor’s Complaint
The Cnet Founder Files a Class-Action Suit At the center of the Halsey Minor’s counterclaim–reported on Bloomberg and in the... - Christie’s Sues Halsey Minor for Fraud
Sotheby’s Isn’t Very Happy with Him Either Charlottesville newsblog The Hook details the latest in Minor’s soap opera with both... - Halsey Minor Takes a Strike
Before Halsey Minor sued Christie’s he sued Sotheby’s because they were suing him for $17m. According to Minor’s hometown website,...
Well, as it turns out I used a single dealer in the 1990′s and ultimately reached a financial agreement in the the case Carol Vogel sites. Anyone knowledgeable about this time period who works in the art market knows that I was very naive about how business is conducted and as a result lost a lot of money. I can’t say what happened myself but certainly some one else can chime in on what exactly happened. The whole industry knows. Debt however had nothing to do with it.
I did vow that I would not be taken advantage of again. I specifically vowed that no one would ever take a commission AND secretly own the work. I swam with the sharks the first go round and got bitten and I will never let it happen again.
Sotheby’s needs to prove they did not have an economic interest in that painting. They were advising me on value and if they were also the beneficiary then I am sorry but that is just plain against the law.
Sotheby’s just prove this is not true:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/arts/design/18voge.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=%22The%20Peaceable%20Kingdom%22&st=cse&oref=slogin
Also, please change the blog to reflects the facts.
Thanks.
Not sure what changes you want to reflect the facts. And we’re not here to argue Sotheby’s claim. So good luck with your campaign.
But as a point of interest the price for a work is determined by the bidders, not the auction house. You topped another buyer’s bid. Unless you’re suggesting Sotheby’s manipulated or invented the opposing bid, what does their financial interest in the work have to do with the price you paid? And, as you point out with the link to Carol Vogel’s piece about the Hicks, the financial connection between Esmerian and Sotheby’s was well-known. Are you claiming the catalogue wasn’t marked to reflect that financial interest?
No it was not printed. I live in San Francisco. And oddly the whole world doesn’t read every page every day of the new york times. You can find my class action suit online.
Could you point out where your lawsuit is online? A google search only yields Sotheby’s suit for payment from you.
Edit: nevermind. We have it.