Marguerite Hoffman Speaks

The Dallas Morning News has a statement from Marguerite Hoffman, the Dallas collector who is suing David Martinez for breaking his confidentiality promise in the purchase of last week’s top Rothko lot by selling it auction:

“When Robert and I made our bequest gift to the Dallas Museum of Art,” Hoffman said in a statement released Monday, “one of the key components that made the gift possible and exciting was the opportunity to continue to edit and refine our collection during our lifetimes.

“This means that while I am alive, pieces will be added and subtracted to the collection. That is the nature of the gift, and that characteristic ensures that the collection stays dynamic and fresh. It also allows for reluctant sales like that of the Rothko, which occurred after the death of my husband.” [….] In the suit, Hoffman says the decision to sell “was a reluctant one, made in difficult personal circumstances,” with her financial condition unsettled after her husband’s untimely death in August 2006 at the age of 59. Robert Hoffman was a Harvard University graduate who became the owner of one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the country.

Dallas art collector’s suit says Rothko resale violated secrecy (Dallas Morning News)