John McEnroe won a court case last week that unwinds a transaction made by Lawrence Salander in 2006 that separated a pair of Arshile Gorky paintings owned by John McEnroe in partnership with Salander. Salander quietly sold one to Joseph Carroll for a below market price to raise cash:
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich ruled on Aug. 20 that Carroll must return the work. “Carroll acquired Pirate II in a grossly undervalued transaction in which he chose to make no inquiry as to Salander’s authority to sell the work,” Kornreich wrote in her decision. McEnroe’s attorney Arthur Goldstein said his client was “ecstatic.”
