Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili has started a campaign to raise his international visibility. Hence the spate of stories that appeared in the UK press this weekend. The Telegraphy’s report has this interesting tidbit about the art collection of the oligarch who wants to build a museum in Tbilisi:
A sizeable chunk of the owner’s $1 billion art collection is on show, albeit with a curious twist. Pablo Picasso’s Dora Maar with Cat hangs on one of the walls (bought for $95.2 million in 2006), while a $40 million canvas by Egon Schiele adorns the main office. The twist? These are all replicas. Afraid of being shaken down by the country’s cash-hungry government, the originals are stashed away in London.
Inside the Fantasy Home of the £3.5bn Politician (Telegraph)
More from Art Market Monitor
Hirst’s Heist & Other Market Myths
IFAR Does a Victory Dance Over Knoedler
Indonesia Has More Billionaires Than Japan, Will It Have More Art Buyers Soon Too?
The Sultan Who Sees His Art as an Investment
2020 Art Basel Global Market Report Reveals Leveled Growth, with Emerging Collectors a New Focus
Can a Failed AbEx Painter’s Career Be Revived and Flourish After He’s Died?
