The New York Times’s Randy Kennedy hitched a ride on the Deitch Express as it barrels toward LA. Meanwhile, back in New York, there are still some loose ends that need tying:

The transition was made much more complicated by the kind of gallery Mr. Deitch ran. It had moneymakers on its roster but also a couple of garage bands’ worth of young artists whom Mr. Deitch supported, more as patron than dealer, with the considerable money he made brokering huge sales in the secondary market — a skill aided by his Harvard M.B.A.

“There are millions in advances that I’ve given to artists over the years,” he said, in exchange for promises that they would repay him if they became successful. It is a testament to the loyalty he fostered that, even now, almost none of the artists he represented have announced publicly that they are joining other galleries, though some will end up with the gallery’s former managing director, Suzanne Geiss, who will be a private dealer and manager, and with two other former directors, Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman, who have opened a SoHo gallery called the Hole with Mr. Deitch’s blessing and the help of his connections.

Museum Role Fits a Former Art Dealer (New York Times)