Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Your Storage Facility Doesn’t Want to Know Too Much About Your Art

July 17, 2014 by Marion Maneker

Supposed van Gogh found in bank vault
Supposed van Gogh found in bank vault

Daniel Grant has a nice piece in Gallerist about art storage facilities and their responsibility toward their clients. But his premise is that lots of stolen art might be contained in these types storage because there was a van Gogh painting found in a Madrid bank vault. Unfortunately, that van Gogh has not been authenticated and the whole story may be a bit of a red herring.

Nonetheless, these are some good and straightforward statements of the privacy expectations governing the art storage community:

“I don’t check on what people are storing, that’s not my business,” said Robert Crozier, president of Crozier Fine Art, a storage company with locations in Manhattan, Long Island, Newark, N.J., and Philadelphia. Although he said that his company does not consult lists maintained by the FBI, Interpol or Art Loss Register of missing and stolen objects, Crozier mentioned a few instances over the years when a court order required him to “turn over our records.” However, he added that “we do extensive due diligence on our clients. Somebody can’t walk off the street and open an account to store their property in our warehouses. We have rules and regulations as to what can and cannot be stored, which we rigorously police.”

Crozier’s approach is standard for the industry. “I sort of know, but not really,” said Chris Wise, director of UOVO Fine Art Storage, a storage facility in Queens, when asked about his knowledge of work he safeguards. “A lot of people don’t share with us what they are storing. They send over a box from Europe and tell us to put it with their other boxes. They don’t want us to open their boxes to see what’s there, and I’m not in the provenance-checking business. If we had to check if pieces were stolen or if they were taxed at the right rate, storage would be a lot more expensive for our clients. So, I don’t really know what we have, and I don’t really want to have that knowledge.”

See No Evil: Is Missing Artwork Sitting Inside Secure Storage Facilities? (Gallerist)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Sour Tongues on Leonardo & Old Master MarketSour Tongues on Leonardo & Old Master Market
  • Mixed Messages from Art Basel: Strong Sales without Speculation?Mixed Messages from Art Basel: Strong Sales without Speculation?
  • Gagosian Brought 12.5% of the Value of Art Basel’s Art This YearGagosian Brought 12.5% of the Value of Art Basel’s Art This Year
  • Curiel SpeaksCuriel Speaks
  • Beating Up on the Berkshire MuseumBeating Up on the Berkshire Museum
  • Sotheby’s Announces $25m Rothko for November SaleSotheby’s Announces $25m Rothko for November Sale

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...