Brazen fraud seems to be the story of the day with the Madoff Ponzi scheme and Marc Drier’s law firm imploding over its own mysterious losses. In the New York Times‘s coverage of the scandal, we found this odd description of Dreier LLP’s art:
The law offices themselves at 499 Park Avenue were like modern art galleries. In court papers filed this week, the comptroller for the law firm reported that $30 million to $40 million of the firm’s assets had been spent on art. Among Mr. Dreier’s holdings were works by Picasso and a Warhol depiction of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
In recent days, someone not affiliated with the firm removed several pieces of artwork from the walls and carted them away, a person at the firm said. It was not clear what became of the art.
It’s hard to decide where to focus in the quote: on the existence of the art itself while Dreier was committing inept fraud or the fact that someone seems to have just walked off with it.
Artnet has further details of Dreier’s collection:
According to one insider, Dreier worked with Larry Gagosian, Jeffrey Deitch and other art dealers to amass a collection that includes an Andy Warhol blue Jackie, a red and brown Mark Rothko painting, a Damien Hirst dot painting, a Robert Indiana “Love” sculpture and works by Dale Chihuly, Alex Katz, Roy Lichtenstein and Richard Prince, among others.
Hat tip: ArtTheftCentral
Lawyer Seen as Bold Enough to Cheat the Best of Investors (New York Times)
