Judd Tully puts a few things together about this Roy Lichtenstein that was bought in at Sotheby’s for $15 million but appeared at FIAC listed with Gagosian Gallery:
The painting, consigned by legendary Italian dealer and collector Gian Enzo Sperone, didn’t sell, and Sotheby’s became the owner by default. The big question is, Who owns the painting now?
In the Grand Palais, the Lichtenstein hangs alongside Andy Warhol’s Green Disaster (Green Disaster Twice), also from 1963, both listed as entries from Gagosian Gallery, one of the 10 blue-chip dealers selected for the Projet Moderne section. Did Larry Gagosian take the painting off Sotheby’s hands after its rude buy-in? The mega-dealer wasn’t available for comment, but a source at FIAC close to the gallery said, “Larry owns it and it’s definitely for sale.”
The Mystery of the Unsold Lichtenstein (ArtInfo.com)
