Pia Catton has this brief story about Jan Krugier’s show of Picasso works owned by Marina Picasso. But the striking quote is this comment from the director of the gallery, Izabela Grocholski:
The painting sells for upward of $25 million, but until some collector walks in and snaps it up, looking is free. And when you’re in the gallery space, you have to wonder: Who is the lucky person—or institution—who will drop the cash and take the Picasso?
Ms. Grocholski doesn’t hold her breath for the next big-spender to pop into the gallery. “You don’t have that as often—just walking off the street and buying something in the gallery—as much as in the art fairs,” she said. “With the growth of arts fairs, the dynamic has changed in the galleries.”
Case in point: At Art Basel, the gallery sold a 1960 plaster sculpture by Picasso, also called “Personnage,” for a reported $15 million.
Why Buy a Car? Pick Up a Picasso (Wall Street Journal)